Delta cancels 49 flights due to volcanic ash

ATLANTA - Atlanta-based Delta Airlines has canceled 49 flights Monday as the volcanic ash plume continues to hover over Europe but some European airlines are putting their planes back in the air.

The airline was also forced to call off about 100 flights on Sunday due to the massive cloud of ash from the volcano that erupted in Iceland last week.

Delta's canceled flights include routes from Atlanta to Europe. A range of other carriers were also forced to scuttle flights over the weekend from Atlanta to Europe.

SOME FLIGHTS RESUMING

Flying into and out of Europe continues to be difficult if not impossible due to volcanic ash wafting its way across the continent from Iceland.

Stranded travelers are trying everything.

Madrid has become a major hub. Spain remains one of the few European countries unaffected by the ash cloud.

Across Europe, travelers are finding prices skyrocketing as they try to rent cars to drive to airports where they might be able to get flights home. But legions of other travelers are simply stranded.

At Frankfurt Airport, an airport spokesman says almost 500 passengers -- most from Africa or Asia with no visas for the EU -- are spending their fourth day in a transit area.

Stranded Europeans trying to get home are also having problems.

At South Korea's Incheon International Airport, frustrated passengers blocked a Korean Air ticketing counter and demanded a meeting with company officials to arrange travel to anywhere in Europe.

Meanwhile, Germany's aviation authority has granted Lufthansa permission to fly 50 planes back to Germany with about 15,000 passengers aboard.

Austria has reopened its airspace and Sweden and Finland are allowing limited operations as Europe works to recoup from the crippling impact of ash from an Icelandic volcano.

And Britain is sending Royal Navy warships across the English Channel to rescue stranded Britons.

The European Union said Sunday that if weather forecasts confirm the skies over Europe are clearing, air traffic over the continent could return to about 50 percent of normal levels Monday. But airport websites, at last report, indicate that many flights remain canceled.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/4/228738