Following advice from the Met Office, the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) is continuing to enforce restrictions on UK controlled airspace due to the volcanic ash cloud that continues to remain over the British Isles. At present it is very difficult to predict when the major airports will reopen as the situation remains dynamic.
So could air charter be an option to avoid the volcanic ash cloud? Since the restriction began Smarter Air Charter have been inundated with inquiries from people trying to get home. Unfortunately the air traffic restrictions apply to all aircraft that fly above a certain altitude. However, there are other options available to you if you are stuck in the UK or abroad. Please contact us immediately to see if we can help.
For those unfortunate enough to be trapped in the UK or Europe there is some hope. Under European law airlines have to offer passengers either a full refund or offer them a transfer to another flight when it becomes available. If there are other costs such as hotels and car hire this should be covered by the passengers insurance company.
The only problem is that the volcanic eruption is a unique situation so standard conditions may be affected. Another problem is that these days many people book their own accommodation separate from their flights. This means that hotel accommodation may not be covered by their policy.
To try and solve the problem caused by the volcanic ash airliners and NATS are contacting aircraft manufacturers and some airliners are doing their own tests. British Airways and KLM have be carrying out test flights to see if the volcanic ash will damage the aircraft engines. If the aircraft pass the maintenance inspection airliners will be keen to maintain normal scheduled flights. However, there has been a lot of publicity over aircraft engine failure, should they through volcanic ash. People will therefore be nervous about getting on an aircraft that intends to chance its luck flying through volcanic ash.