Airlines resumed flying across much of Europe on Wednesday, but the after-effects of a volcanic-ash induced shutdown of nearly a week will linger. The financial blow to an already hard-pressed industry is immense, and many travelers will now think twice about the possibility of being stranded far from home. Neither the blow to the pocketbook nor the concern of customers can please the airlines.
About 21,000 of the Europe’s 28,000 scheduled daily flights were to take to the air on Wednesday, according to officials. Restrictions did remain in effect in a few locales as officials continued to monitor particles spewed into the air over Iceland and then carried by winds to the European continent and beyond.
At this writing, Heathrow in London, Charles de Gaulle in Paris and the German hub at Frankfurt — Europe’s three busiest airports — as well as many others were operating on a fairly normal basis. Still, it could be a day or two, or more, before the full schedule of daily flights resumes. It will take much longer for industry and government officials to work through issues raised by the shutdown that, so far, has cost airlines at least $1.7 billion.
Travel experts estimate the backlog might take between a week and 10 days to resolve — assuming there are no further setbacks caused by volcanic eruptions or other factors. There is agreement, as well, that residual problems could linger longer. The numbers involved suggest that is a possibility.
More than 100,000 flights and millions of passengers were directly affected by the ash-induced shutdown. Many stranded or grounded travelers will have to have tickets updated and/or reallocated. That time-consuming and complicated process likely will make seats difficult to obtain for a time to come. One airline, for example reported Wednesday that its first available date for new bookings is May 5.