The European flight ban has been lifted, although flights are still often late.
Those who have found themselves stranded across the continent due to the Eyjafjallajökull’s ash eruption will, slowly but surely, be able to arrive at their destinations. The eruption seems to be dying down, and has been rather calm today, in any event.
Eyjan reports that the European air traffic control center, Eurocontrol, estimates that 75% of all flights across the continent will continue as scheduled today, with about 21,000 planes taking to the skies.
Not that it’ll all be smooth sailing – some 95,000 flights have been delayed since the ash eruption began, and there’s going to be a lot of re-organizing going on between airports. Expect delays.
The Association of European Airlines (AEA) estimates that airlines lost about 1.1 billion euros during the ban. It is expected that the AEA will file for damages from the European Union.
Scientists on the scene here have measured that the ash eruption is now a fifth of what it was last weekend, and has significantly decreased last night and today. Although it is too soon to say that the volcano is dying out, as ash is expected to continue for at least another week, the volcano does appear much calmer now.