Newcastle Airport travellers face more ash disruption

May 11 2010 by Tom Mullen, The Journal

THE volcanic ash cloud crisis could continue to cause disruption for would-be travellers in the North East for some time to come.

Newcastle International Airport was yesterday forced to axe Air France flights to and from Paris along with the easyJet service from Palma, Majorca.

And the fear is that the erupting volcano in Iceland could continue to affect flights all summer.

Airports in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland and Scotland were all affected by the ash cloud over the weekend, but have now reopened.

However, Newcastle Airport said information from Eurocontrol, the European air management agency, indicated further delays could be caused by a backlog of passengers and air crews being displaced.

Airlines and airports throughout the United Kingdom continued to urge passengers to check the latest information before travelling to their airport.

Scientists and weather forecasters remain confused by the Eyjafjallajökull volcano’s activity.

It continues to show no sign of ceasing and unseasonal north-westerly winds continue to blow the ash cloud towards Britain and Europe.