UK airports have reopened after volcanic ash risk

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8663994.stm

All British airports are reopened again after the latest closures. People got stranded overnight but the ash cloud has moved west and has cleared UK airspace, air traffic control body Nats said. Ash clouds are ruining the airspace for the last month, causing airports to close temporarily. This latest disruption started last Monday and today all the left over airports are reopened again. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said airports in the Irish Republic started to reopen at 0400 BST, with the final airport coming back into operation at 0900 BST. In a statement, Nats confirms that the ash cloud moved to the west and that they will keep maintain close dialogue with the Met Office and with the CAA, which is responsible for imposing no-fly zones.

I think it is quite amazing that something so simple like an ash cloud can disturb air traffic on this scale. For the people that need to travel for business or booked holidays, it is even more annoying. If the ash cloud stays in the west, it won’t be as annoying anymore. Airports will lose a lot of money if the ash cloud returns again, and that is something that countries can’t afford during the financial crisis. This whole situation shows once more that nature is still more powerful than men, since authorities can’t do any more than to close the airports and wait for the ash cloud to go away.