Most airports shut until Tuesday 9am
The latest on the flights ban over France that has led to thousands of cancellations
THE MAJORITY of airports in France are to remain closed until at least 9.00 tomorrow morning as the volcanic ash cloud continues to cause havoc for European travel.
Tens of thousands of flights have been cancelled since Thursday morning, costing millions of euros a day. Prime Minister François Fillon said the weather over the coming days suggested that "the situation will remain difficult for several days".
Airports to the north of Bordeaux and Nice are closed. The southern airports that are open will remain so until at least 15.00 and are being used to repatriate stranded travellers from overseas.
BA, Easyjet, Ryanair and Flybe have suspended all of their flights today in the UK and northern Europe. Air traffic authority DGAC say passengers must check with their airline before travelling.
At 7.30 on Monday, the following airports were open - and likely to stay open for most of the day.
Marseille
Nice
Bordeaux
Toulouse
Montpellier
Pau
Tarbes
Biarritz
Perpignan
Air France and KLM have run a number of empty test flights which detected no problems with the ash. Many airlines are calling for the flight ban to be lifted so that they can begin getting people to their destinations.
European airlines trade body AEA has called for an "urgent re-evaluation" of the ban.
Air France pilots' union SNPL said it wanted "concrete and tangible" evidence that the ash posed a danger to flights.
More than 150,000 French people are stuck abroad. Eurostar is running extra trains today, although they are selling out very quickly. Eurotunnel, coach operator Eurolines and the cross-Channel ferry companies are also reporting very high passenger numbers.
The Finance Ministry has set up a crisis cell with the job of evaluating the economic damage caused by the disruption. Airlines say the effect the flight ban is having on their business is similar to the days after 9/11.
La Poste says the delays should not have much of an effect on postal deliveries. It says only 3% of post is shipped by plane and capacity has been increased on its long-distance trucks and post trains to make up for the lack of flights.
Photo credit: Mike Knell
