Ladies and gentlemen: London is back. The busiest international hub in the world is finally operating flights again, and is expected to return to complete normalcy by Friday. Germany has also begun lifting airspace restrictions after the six-day shutdown.
While France and Italy have gradually opened airports in cities like Paris and Milan to more long-haul flights, Spain has been the key emergency hub. To get Europe back on its feet and travelers to their final destinations, Spain has allowed flights from New York, Orlando, Vancouver, Paris, Nice, and Rome, and has operated more than 300 buses to move passengers to other nearby cities.
All of Air France’s long haul flights and almost 70 percent of its mid-range flights took off today, and the airline expects to run its normal route lists again in less than 48 hours. Lufthansa is now operating 500 flights a day instead of its usual 1800.
While the ash is slowing, there’s no telling whether the volcano will become active again, or if European countries will need to repeat the process of closing airspace.
European airlines are now asking the government for help with compensation, much like what happened in the US after September 11, 2001.
