Iceland ash cloud chokes Asian airports

[Dover]

Source: Reuters

The air travel chaos caused by a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano has blown through to Asia, with hotels from Beijing to Singapore straining to accommodate thousands of stranded passengers.

Dozens of Europe-bound flights were canceled from Sydney to Tokyo and New Delhi, costing airlines millions of dollars in lost revenues and mounting hotel bills as distraught passengers braced for enforced stopovers of more than a week in Asia.

In Singapore, a major transit route for Europe-bound flights, 22 flights were canceled on early Saturday, Ivan Tan a spokesman for Changi Airport told Reuters, with more than 40 canceled since the disruption began.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63G0IV20100417

[Haole Girl]

1. What a mess

:-(

[dipsydoodle]

2. Some of the UK's

holiday makers out in Spain at present, whose holidays finished days ago, are likely to be stuck there for another 10 days while the back log is cleared. If that don't start by Monday it will compound even further. In Europe Ukraine and Belarous were affected by earlier today too.

I suppose eventually it could loop and affect the USA. :shrug:

[Dover]

3. And what if the volcano continues to spew ash for a long time?

It could....so what's plan B?

[no_hypocrisy]

4. This phenomenon could choke economies worldwide.

We just don't see it yet but it will come.

[northernlights]

5. not only could it continue to spew...

it is linked to eruptions of the nearby, much larger (and much more spellable) Katja volcano. When this one erupts, apparently the other one often does as well...and in significantly more disastrous ways.

Plan B will involve re-routing flights or traveling by land and sea.

[Dover]

7. Perhaps it will all clear up

when Mercury goes direct...:P

[northernlights]

8. more likely Katja will blow

:scared: with the grand cardinal cross...:P

[Dover]

9. .....

................. :hide:

[D-Lee]

29. Thanks for that observation (April 17 to May 11 is the retrograde period)

Looks like a pretty good fit. For those who aren't up on what Mercury Retrograde means, it corresponds with disruption of transportation, communication, and plans.

[aquart]

10. Is that the one that killed tens of thousands with a toxic plume in the 1700s?

[kestrel91316]

21. Trains and ships. And an end to the expectation that one can just fly anywhere......

[quakerboy]

27. Well, at the very least

People will have to switch from sattelite TV to Cable...

[KurtNYC]

6. I'm getting ads for Iceland Air with this story

you gotta love computers -- they are truly stupid machines.

[aquart]

11. Please. I remember reading about the JFK assassination

With an ad for flights to Dallas on the page.

[dogknob]

14. Ironically...

From what I have been reading, Reykjavík's airport is still open.

[AngryAmish]

15. How is that ironic?

[izquierdista]

26. It's upwind

[StClone]

12. Meteors, Earthquakes, Volcanoes 1012 Approaches !

Repent Tea Baggers! And 2013 is the next year!!!

[starroute]

13. The headline is totally misleading

The ash cloud itself is nowhere the Asian airports -- only the stranded passengers waiting for canceled flights to Europe.

I clicked on this thread wondering what the heck was going on -- and felt kind of gypped as a result.

[DCBob]

17. Correct. I was thinking the exact same thing..

Journalistic hype.. pathetic.

[Dover]

22. I agree. However the cloud of ash IS expanding, moving as far south as Bulgaria now.

The nightly news reports just said that the ash cloud is progressing as far south as Bulgaria, and the volcanic activity seems to be getting more volatile. So they expect it to continue for some weeks...or longer. Of course a change in wind direction could alter its course somewhat.

[Skink]

16. then it ate up the New Jersey turnpike.

[daleo]

18. Are propeller driven planes ok?

I am inclined to think so, since they fly lower than jets and their engines don't run as hot.

[Mudoria]

19. My question is if it will cross the Pacific to NA?

And if so what is the timeline?

[activa8tr]

20. I think you misunderstood, it's not the ash that has reached Asia, it's

the air travel CHAOS, due to canceled flights!

For your OTHER question, there is no way of knowing if this will last a day, a week, or for months.

[Duer 157099]

23. Stupid journalist thinks it's cute to use words like "choke" and "blown through"

Idiot. Save your cute language for a creative writing class or your novel, not for reporting news.

[Dover]

24. Lol! However it may turn out to be a prescient statement. The cloud IS expanding southward

and looks as though it may continue for some time to come.

It's doubtful it will directly affect the U.S. unless there is a significant shift in wind direction.
However, it is affecting everyone in one way or another.

[Duer 157099]

25. Well, it's got to go somewhere I guess

Of course, much of it will fall to the ground if the winds allow it.

[Dover]

28. Latest map tracking the ash cloud and airport closures throughout Europe >

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/15/world/europe/airport-closings-graphic.html