Air traffic should be back to normal on April 22: Eurocontrol

BRUSSELS: European air traffic is expected to return to normal on Thursday, after a week of cancellations and disruption due to the ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano, the intergovernmental Eurocontrol said.

"If things continue to look like now and the volcano will not spread ashes to Europe we're probably back to normal operations by Thursday," said Bo Redeborn, director of Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic control across Europe.

"If 30 percent of flights were operated today, maybe we can expect another 10 to 15 percent to come back during tomorrow, and maybe another 10-15 percent the day after," he said Monday, after EU transport ministers agreed to ease air space restrictions which have hit airlines and their passengers since last Thursday.

Redeborn said there would still be a no-fly zone, where the volcanic cloud is deemed to be at dangerous concentrations for jet engines.

The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre will issue maps every six hours showing where the no-fly zones are, as the ash cloud moves around.

If a high concentration is found above an airport then it must be closed and no air traffic allowed through the area, the Eurocontrol official said.

Eurocontrol, the European organisation for the safety of air navigation, is made up of 38 nations across the continent.