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U.K. airspace may reopen Tuesday

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British airspace could reopen as early as Tuesday according to the country’s transport secretary. Andrew Adonis says there’s been a sharp drop in the amount of ash being produced by the volcanic eruption in Iceland and if conditions continue to improve, U.K. airspace will start opening.

British Airways says test flights have proven that the blanket restrictions European governments have imposed on flights because of volcanic ash from Iceland are unnecessary. The airline’s assessment is that “the risk has been minimal.”  British Airways is calling for new government policies to get planes back in the air. The airline industry says it has lost at least $1 billion due to five days of closed airports. Germany’s aviation authority says it has granted Lufthansa permission to fly 50 planes back to Germany with about 15,000 passengers aboard.

Meanwhile, flights continue to be cancelled or delayed in and out of St. John’s, N.L. Monday, but it’s due more to heavy fog than the threat of volcanic ash. Some airlines decided to be cautious Sunday night because meteorological data that suggested that winds were blowing ash towards Newfoundland. But St. John’s International Airport says the weather has closed in and visibility is extremely limited because of thick fog.

Porter Airlines says they scrubbed one flight last night as a precaution, but did not expect any further cancellations Monday. Air Canada has resumed its normal flight schedule while WestJet reports one cancellation due to an aircraft maintenance issue. The Canadian Meteorological Centre says there is a low probability of risk from volcanic ash because satellite imagery doesn’t support ash presence in high concentrations.

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