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| Britain |
| Volcanic ash grounds Heathrow, Gatwick flights in Britain |
| 2010-04-15 |
| MORE than 250 flights to and from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports were grounded by volcanic ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Many of the cancelled flights - more than 150 to and from Heathrow, and 108 flights to and from Gatwick - were transatlantic services, while Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports in Scotland were shut altogether. The ash has also halted flights across nearly all of Norway and northern Sweden, authorities said. The Laki eruption (about 100 Ks from the current eruption) in 1784, In North America, the winter of 1784 was the longest and one of the coldest on record. It was the longest period of below-zero temperatures in New England, the largest accumulation of snow in New Jersey, and the longest freezing over of Chesapeake Bay. There was ice skating in Charleston Harbor, a huge snowstorm hit the south, the Mississippi River froze at New Orleans, and there was ice in the Gulf of Mexico.[10][11] More on climate effects of Laki eruption There was an even bigger Iceland eruption 500 years earlier. These 2 eruptions coincided with the Dark Ages and The Little Ice Age respectively. |
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #1 This is a major malfunction for world air traffic. Think about it. Every commercial plane in the UK (and Belgium/Holland now) are grounded. All traffic inbound to LHR (busiest airport in the world) is stuck at origin tying up parking spots. Air crew are in wrong locations for next trips worldwide. Cost to the airlines is astronomical. This affects not just commercial but greytails as well - no flighs to Mildenhall/etc. Understand cloud drifting into France vic midnight Z and on into Germany - which will then affect traffic thru Frankfurt/Ramstein/etc. More flights stacking up on the ground. And not just in the US/Africa but also in Asia. Idling airiline workers worldwide will wreak havoc with profitability. Now expand this. What if this lasts a week. No flights in/out of the UK (only let's say for argument's sake) for a week. What effect on the economy? Other than driving up stock in the Chunnel and P&O. Expand again geographicly - carry on effect on EU and other trading partners? Once again - expand timeline - what if this occurs constantly or intermittently for 6 months? Damage to world economy would be significant. Also raises interesting questions regarding air defense. Presume missles could fly thru ash cloud but fighters/bombers/recon planes can't (or they get engine's glazed). Lends the advantage to the offence in that environment. |
| Posted by: Flailet White6069 2010-04-15 12:36 |