Volcanic cloud casts shadow over US travel
Associated Press
CHICAGO
A volcanic-ash cloud that shut down airports and tied up air traffic across Europe could turn into a long, costly headache for businesses, airlines and tourists in the United States.
The ash spewed by an eruption in Iceland forced airlines to cancel flights and redirect planes around the ash. Those diversions caused jetliners to burn more fuel and created delays in the air-cargo business that could quickly run into tens of millions of dollars.
The slowdown could affect everything from package shipments to business meetings and long-planned vacations.
“The costs could be extraordinary,” said Jeffrey Price, an aviation professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Many in the travel industry on Thursday weren’t asking if they would be affected — but how badly.
“This is the ultimate act of God,” said Chicago-based transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman. “It’s hard to imagine a weather scenario that would disrupt the entire Atlantic flight system like this.”
Anxious clients called Boston-based Garber Travel, one of New England’s biggest travel agencies, asking how they might rearrange flights. But for some travelers bound for Europe, it was too late.
The flight cancellations jeopardized a $6,000 trip planned for more than six months by Robert and Barbara Breault of Coventry, R.I.
Barbara, an avid gardener, had scheduled a vacation that coincided with tulip bloomings in the Netherlands. But their outbound flight Thursday evening from Boston’s Logan Airport to London Heathrow was marked “See agent.”
On an average day, U.S. airlines operate about 340 flights to and from Europe, according to the Air Transport Association. On Thursday, American carriers canceled at least 100 of those flights because of the ash.
An FAA spokeswoman said the cancellations affected at least 10 countries: England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Finland, France, Belgium and Denmark.
The FAA issued an order holding flights destined for the United Kingdom on the ground. Other flights to and from Europe were being diverted around British airspace, which has been closed until 4 a.m. EDT today.
FedEx, the world’s second-largest package-delivery company, started rerouting flights bound for Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. It also moved some packages by truck instead of air.
Although rare, flight problems caused by volcanic ash are not unheard of. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state grounded hundreds of flights for days.
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