Europe airports open as airlines count costs

Europe airports open as airlines count costs    European airspace was opened late Tuesday and into Wednesday as safety officials downgraded the threat volcanic ash from an eruption in Iceland might have on aircraft.
   The move to restart operations in northern Europe comes after five days of confusion and hand wringing from major airlines. The International Air Transport Association estimates the shutdown will have cost the airline industry $1.7 billion, and on Wednesday urged governments to find ways to compensate airlines for losses.
   U.K. air traffic controllers seem to be at the heart of the debate, as they were the first to close their airspace when it became clear ash from the Icelandic volcano was drifting towards Europe. Other countries soon followed, all relying on mathematical modeling to determine that fine particles of ash — which can damage aircraft engines — were blanketing the continent.
   Airlines, losing money by the hour, pressed ahead with test flights to show the ash cloud wasn't as bad as the theoretical model suggested. They also complained that there was no clear direction about what constituted a dangerously high concentration of ash in any particular area.
   IATA, meanwhile, complained about a lack of coordination between transport ministers in the various European countries stricken by the airspace shutdown.
   As far as air cargo goes, flights have resumed to most of Europe.
   'Swiss airspace is open again for flight operations and Swiss is striving to gradually resume its regular timetabled services,' Swiss WorldCargo said in a statement Wednesday. 'Nevertheless, the open and closed status of some of Europe's airspace areas is hanging all the time. At our cargo hub in Zurich, ground operations are being fully staffed for optimal operations.'
   Japan Airlines said Tuesday it was resuming its flights to Europe, including to London, Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, all of which were affected by the ash cloud.
   By midday Tuesday, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Estonia, Hungary and Turkey had resumed some form of service, Transport Intelligence reported, with FedEx resuming services out of Paris to other global regions.
   UPS said in a service update that it is flying more intercontinental shipments between Europe and the United States, but that closed air space over many countries is still causing freight disruptions. The parcel and freight carrier is shifting express air volume to its ground network to get shipments to their destination. Other forwarders have reportedly bought up extra warehousing space or chartered capacity.
   FedEx said on its Web site that it restarted operations Tuesday at its hub at Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris with one flight leaving for its U.S. hub in Memphis, Tenn., and seven flights leaving Memphis for Paris. Additional FedEx Express shipments from the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions are also being flown into its European hub. The company is using trucks to distribute shipments within Europe.
   'Due to the unpredictable movement of volcanic ash, we are still monitoring this situation very carefully and will continue to take advantage of any opportunity to fly into additional airports as they open. It will take time to clear the backlog of shipments and customers should still expect delays. As previously noted, we are focused on prioritizing shipments on a 'first-in, first-out' basis,' FedEx said.
   The express delivery company asked customers with perishable cargo to hold their shipments until it resumes a normal flight schedule.
   Delta Air Lines said Tuesday during a call with Wall Street analysts and the press that the stoppage of traffic in Europe was costing it about $5 million a day, even after accounting for the fuel it was not burning. It said however, that it expected to fly about half of its westbound transatlantic flights on Tuesday and all of its eastbound flights starting on Tuesday evening.
   Global logistics firm Agility said on its Web site that airlines are giving priority to stranded passengers and that cargo capacity will remain limited for combination carriers. It said it is arranging premium air cargo charters into southern European airports to meet customer needs.
   Emirates SkyCargo said it is on track to clear backlogged cargo by the end of Thursday as European airspace reopens.
   The sudden opening of airspace was helped by the decreasing intensity of the eruption of the volcano. But it was aided immeasurably by British Airways' decision to commence 26 flights from around the world destined for London's Heathrow International Airport, even before British air traffic controllers cleared London's airspace for safety.
   The gambit apparently forced the hands of aviation authorities throughout Europe. Transport officials in the United Kingdom and elsewhere said late Tuesday they discussed the situation extensively with airlines and aircraft manufacturers and determined that modern planes were better able to withstand the effects of volcanic ash.
   But as has been reported, it will take days, and likely weeks, for the backlog of cargo and passengers to be cleared, and for airlines to resume their normal schedules. ' Eric Johnson Eric Kulisch and Chris Dupin contributed to this story.