AI,Kingfisher flights to London grounded as ash returns

Air India did not operate its Mumbai-London and New Delhi-London flight.

An Air India spokesperson said the two flights would most likely operate on Tuesday. “We are planning to change the aircraft type for Tuesday. A bigger aircraft would be able to carry more passengers and clear the backlog on Tuesday itself,” the spokesperson said.

Private carrier Kingfisher,too,is keeping all options open. “Having assessed the information from Eurocontrol and the trends indicating anticipated closure of the airspace over London Heathrow Airport,Kingfisher Airlines cancelled flights to and from London Heathrow on Monday. Because the situation is dynamic,a decision for Tuesday’s flights would be made closer to the departure time,based on updates from Eurocontrol,” a spokesperson from Kingfisher Airlines said. Jet Airways,meanwhile,said all its flights to London were on schedule.

The airspace over London’s Heathrow airport and Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport were closed on Monday morning as a dense cloud of volcanic ash drifted from Iceland.

The restrictions affecting Heathrow — as well as Gatwick,Stansted and London City airports — will be in place until at least 7 am local time (1130 IST).

No-fly zones
* London’s Heathrow airport and Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport were closed on Monday
* Other London airports — Gatwick,Stansted and London City — also affected
* Restrictions to stay in place till 11.30 am on Tuesday
* Jet Airways said all its flights to London were on schedule