Stranded passengers arrive Lagos
By Ade Ogidan, Adeyemi Adepetun and Chika Goodluck Ogazi
CHEERS and whoops of joy rent the air at airports around the world as airplanes took to the skies after five days of being grounded by a volcanic ash cloud that had crippled European travel.
But weary passengers might have to temper their enthusiasm as only limited flights were allowed to resume at some European airports. United Kingdom (UK) authorities also said London airports - a major hub for thousands of daily flights worldwide - would remain closed for at least another day due to new danger from the invisible ash cloud.
And in Lagos, it was a cocktail of emotions as some Nigerian-bound passengers that had been stranded in Europe finally arrived yesterday
Some felt marooned, while others felt they were providentially domiciled at the various airports in Europe, due to a most unexpected natural cause-the volcano ash from Iceland that blanketed the skies
With over 95,000 flights cancelled in the last week alone, airlines face the enormous task of working through the backlog to get passengers where they want to go - a challenge that certainly will take days.
Still, in airport hubs that have been cauldrons of anxiety, anger and sleep deprivation, yesterday marked a day of collective relief.
The boards at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport announcing long-distance flights - which had been streaked with red "cancelled" signs for five days - filled up with white "on time" signs yesterday and the first commercial flight out since Thursday left for New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.
"We were in the hotel having breakfast, and we heard an aircraft take off. Everybody got up and applauded," said Bob Basso of San Diego, who has been staying in a hotel near Charles de Gaulle since his Friday flight was cancelled.
"There's hope," he said. Basso, 81, and his son had tickets for a flight to Los Angeles later yesterday.
At New York's JFK, the first flight from Amsterdam in days arrived Monday night.
"Everyone was screaming in the airplane from happiness," said passenger Savvas Toumarides of Cyprus, who missed his sister's New York wedding after getting stranded in Amsterdam last Thursday. He said the worst part was "waiting and waiting and not knowing."
The Eurocontrol air traffic agency in Brussels said it expects 55 to 60 per cent of flights over Europe to go ahead yesterday, a marked improvement over the last few days. By midmorning, 10,000 of Europe's 27,500 daily flights were scheduled to go.
"The situation today is much improved," said Brian Flynn, deputy head of operations at the Brussels-based agency. "The outlook is that bit by bit, normal flights will be resumed in coming days."
The agency predicted close to normal takeoffs by Friday.
Still, an international pilots' group warned that ash remains a danger and meteorologists say Iceland's still-erupting volcano isn't ready to rest yet, promising more choked airspace and flight delays to come.
Ash that had drifted over the North Sea from the volcano in southern Iceland was being pushed back over Britain yesterday by shifty north winds, Icelandic scientists said.
"It's a matter of wind directions. The volcano's plume is quite low actually, still below three kilometers near the volcano," said Gudrun Nina Petersen, meteorologist at the Icelandic Met Office.
A Eurocontrol map showing the ash cloud yesterday listed the airspace between Iceland and Britain and Ireland as a no-fly zone, along with much of the Baltic Sea and surrounding area. The ash cloud also spread westward from Iceland, toward Greenland and Canada's eastern coastline.
The volcano in southern Iceland is still spewing smoke and lava, but the ash plume is lower than it previously was, posing less threat to high-flying aircraft.
Three-year old daughter of Mr. Gbolohan Diyan literary flew like a cat from a two-metre distance into the arms of his father, who had arrived from Frankfurt, Germany, with a Lufthansa Airline flight.
Diyan described the experience, during his three-day stay at Frankfurt airport as "highly discomforting".
"The turn of event was most unexpected. When the news of the flight inhibiting volcano ash reached us, some of us thought that it would only last for a day or two. So, with enthusiasm, I went to Frankfurt Airport, expecting a minimal delay, which however, stretched till this morning (Tuesday).
"All along, my worries were centered on my family at home here in Lagos. With uncertainty enveloping everywhere at the airport, some little comforts that came our way were far from relieving us. People were sleeping everywhere, mostly on the floor. Some had sleeping materials provided by the authorities. But I am happy to be home at last, to the warm embrace of my darling daughter, other members of my family and friends."
Meanwhile, airlines and other operators at Nigerian airports have been counting their losses. Among these are the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Skyways Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL), the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (nahcoaviance), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the bureau de change operators and the duty free shops.
Investigations by The Guardian revealed that Arik Air, which operates from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos with A340 aircraft daily and B737-800 from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja has lost close to N700 million to the disaster even as it promised to resume flight operations immediately the airspace is opened.
Spokesperson for the airline, Mr. Banji Ola confirmed that the airline has recorded huge loss due to the suspension of operations since last Thursday, but could not put a figure to the amount lost.
He said that since the volcanic eruption began last Wednesday, the airline has been unable to operate its flights into London Heathrow, adding that the suspension was in compliance with directive from UK Air Traffic Control Services (NATS) and for safety reasons.
Also, the General Manager, Public Affairs, NAMA, Mr. Supo Atobatele, confirmed that the agency had lost some revenue from the navigational charges it collects from the international airlines, especially from Europe. Atobatele noted that the agency is currently compiling its losses.
The Corporate Affairs and Business Development Manager of nahcoavaince also said most of the foreign airlines especially from Europe for which the company does ground handling services for have not been landing at the country's international airports.
Bureau de change operators at the international wing of the Lagos Airport are not left out. One of them who spoke with The Guardian, Alhaji Musa Jibril, lamented that business had been dull since last week, stressing that most of their clients who are businessmen and women have not been coming.
He said:
"The fact is that we have been affected by the recent disaster, which has enveloped the whole of Europe. Most of our customers who usually patronise us on a daily basis have not been coming because they have not been able to travel out or come in to the country and since they can't move, there is no way we can generate revenue too."
As the duty free shops at the MMIA showed a lull in business as most of the occupants of the shops sat idle discussing the volcanic ash
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