20100416
africanews

Kenya Airways cancelled flights to Europe due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland that saw clouds of ash drift to European airspace. "Kenya Airways regrets to inform its passengers, customers, the travel trade and the public that due to the unforeseen act of nature; volcanic eruption in Iceland, the airline has now cancelled its flights to and from London and Amsterdam until further notice," a statement said.

"Kenya Airways regrets to inform its passengers, customers, the travel trade and the public that due to the unforeseen act of nature; volcanic eruption in Iceland, the airline has now cancelled its flights to and from London and Amsterdam until further notice," said a statement from the airline.

"This is due to the clouds of volcanic ash towards European airspace leading to closure of the United Kingdom Airspace and London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol on safety grounds."

According to media reports, the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland erupted Wednesday night for the second time in less than a month.

The eruption -- the latest in a series that began on March 20 -- blew a hole in the mass of ice and created a cloud of smoke and ash that went high into the air.

Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Titus Naikuni, said that as a result flights KQ 101/15th APR from London to Nairobi and KQ 102/15APR from Nairobi have been cancelled.

"In Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport will be closed at 2100hrs local time. KQ 116/15APR is expected to land at 1700hrs as scheduled. However KQ 117/16APR to Nairobi is uncertain and a decision to operate is based on advice by the Netherlands Civil Aviation Authority (RLD) and the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines as our partner and handling agent.

"The airline’s staff in London and Amsterdam are making all possible efforts to contact all our booked customers with this information in order to minimise the inconvenience caused by this unavoidable occurrence,” said Naikuni.

Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands also announced the closure of their air space, authorities in each country said.

The US Geological Survey said about 100 encounters of aircraft with volcanic ash were documented from 1983 to 2000. In some cases engines shut down briefly after sucking in volcanic debris, but there have been no fatal incidents.

In 1989, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747 flew into an ash cloud from Alaska's Redoubt volcano and lost all power, dropping from 25,000 feet to 12,000 feet (7,500 meters to 3,600) before the crew could get the engines restarted. The plane landed safely.

In another incident in the 1980s, a British Airways 747 flew into a dust cloud and the grit sandblasted the windscreen. The pilot had to stand and look out a side window to land safely.