Argentine towns suffer under falling volcanic ash (AP)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The government of one province in Argentina declared an economic emergency on Thursday to aid towns where falling ash from Chile's erupting volcano is endangering livestock and keeping tourists away.

The emergency in Neuquen province follows a similar measure by the national government in other parts of Patagonia where agriculture has been hit by accumulating volcanic ash.

The decree by Gov. Jorge Sapag will mean that those affected can receive tax benefits, among other measures.

Chile's Cordon Caulle volcano began erupting June 4, spewing ash that has disrupted flights in countries ranging from Uruguay to Australia.

The ash has also blanketed towns across the border in Argentina. In the area of Villa La Angostura, located 24 miles (38 kilometers) from the volcano, up to one foot (30 centimeters) of ash has accumulated on the ground.

The ash has made it difficult to drive safely on roads, and the eruption came just as resorts in the mountain towns were preparing for ski season.

"Today we can't anticipate the season's final results, but we can say that this has ruined the start of the winter season in the coming days," said Roberto Alonso, mayor of Villa La Angostura.

Residents in the town have been working to clean up the ash, said Alejandro Curiluck, a business owner in Villa La Angostura. "In 15 days we should be operating. The big problem is that the volcano keeps sending up ashes," he said.

Satellite images on Thursday showed the main ash cloud from the erupting volcano stretching about 900 miles (1,400 kilometers) toward the east-southeast, Chile's National Geology and Mines Service said in a statement.

"The eruption process continues and it's possible that an increase in activity could occur again, with episodes similar or greater in intensity than those that have occurred so far," the agency said.

The ashes are causing problems for Argentine farmers whose sheep herds are now roaming in pastures covered with ash.

According to official figures, there are more than 2 million sheep in Patagonia, of which more than half are affected by the ash.

In response, Argentina's Agriculture Ministry declared an emergency on Wednesday in the provinces of Chubut, Rio Negro y Neuquen.

Regional airports in Patagonia have also been shut down for more than a week due to the cloud of fine grit, which can damage airplane engines.

Buenos Aires' main airports reopened on Wednesday and international flights were operating again.

Yahoo! News

Iceland's volcanic ash over Britain could be gone tomorrow – but back Friday (The Christian Science Monitor)

London – British airspace is expected to return to normal tomorrow as the ash cloud caused by Iceland’s Grimsvotn volcano drifts away. But experts say conditions over the United Kingdom are likely to deteriorate again by week's end.

The latest report from the Met Office, Britain's weather forecaster, predicts that dense ash will return Friday, covering the whole of the UK. That would almost certainly mean every flight in and out of the UK will be grounded.

Much will depend on weather patterns and the power of the volcano, which has begun to dissipate since it erupted Saturday. Experts suggest that its ferocity is on par with last year’s Eyjafjallajokull’s eruption, which effectively shut down European airspace for six days, costing airlines nearly $2 billion and caused havoc for millions of passengers.

IN PICTURES: Grimsvotn volcano erupts

Today, 500 European flights were canceled, mostly in and out of Scotland and northern England, although there has been some minor disruption in Scandinavia, too.

A spokesman for the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) described the situation in Scotland today as a “significant disruption” but said it was “looking good for the next couple of days."

But he confirmed that if high-density ash returned to the UK Friday, major disruption will be likely. “Most UK operators have got an agreement to fly through medium-density ash, but with high-density ash, airlines don’t have that kind of safety case agreed with engine manufacturers. So while the new procedures will allow activity to take place in lower concentrations of ash, the worst-case scenario would mean nothing could take off or land.”

Sign up for our daily World Editor's Picks newsletter. Our best stories, in your inbox.

In another development, a bitter row has broken out between Ryanair and the CAA after Ryanair’s boss, Michael O’Leary, claimed there was no volcanic ash in Scottish airspace at all. Mr. O’Leary said Ryanair had sent a test flight into the high ash concentration zone earlier today and that no evidence of ash had been found.

Both the CAA and British Transport Secretary Philip Hammond dismissed the claims. The CAA denied that any Ryanair flight had entered an area of high ash concentration this morning, while Mr. Hammond called Ryanair’s claims “irresponsible."

IN PICTURES: Grimsvotn volcano erupts

Yahoo! News

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Flights canceled as volcanic ash touches Scotland (AP)

LONDON – Ash spewing from an Icelandic volcano is causing disruption and days of uncertainty to more parts of Europe, as officials in Germany said that dozens of flight will be grounded on Wednesday because of levels of ash in the country's northern regions.

Even though some say it's been a massive overreaction by badly prepared safety regulators — one airline even claims the official scientific findings are simply wrong — hundreds of flights were canceled Tuesday as winds blew the cloud of ash from the Grimsvotn volcano over Scotland and other parts of Europe. Experts say that particles in the ash could stall jet engines and sandblast planes' windows.

The only comfort for frustrated passengers and airlines is that officials in Iceland said the amount of ash being released by the volcano is decreasing, and officials don't expect the disruption to be as bad as last year, when millions were stranded after the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

Travelers trying to go to or leave Scotland were hit hardest, but the problem also began to affect Germany, where weather officials said it would not allow any takeoffs or landings at the northern Bremen and Hamburg airports early Wednesday due to increased levels of ash in the atmosphere.

Dozens of domestic and international flights were to be affected by the closure early Wednesday. Authorities said it may be necessary to halt all air traffic coming and going from Berlin's airports, as well as Hannover, depending on the winds.

In Sweden, 10 domestic flights were canceled Tuesday evening. The country's aviation officials say they expect medium concentrations of ash over its western coast late Tuesday, including over its second-largest city Goteborg.

Although British authorities said concentrations of ash in the skies over Scotland were too high to fly through, Irish budget airline Ryanair challenged the results, saying it had sent its own airplane into Scottish airspace and found no ash in the atmosphere.

"All the data we are receiving confirms our forecasts, that there is high-density ash over Scotland," said Barry Grommett, spokesman for Britain's weather agency.

Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary disagreed.

"Exactly as we predicted, we encountered absolutely no problems," he told The Associated Press. "There's no cloud over Scotland. There's no dusting of ash on the airframe or the wings. The airspace over Scotland should never have been restricted in the first place."

Still, Ryanair was forced by Irish authorities to cancel all 68 flights in and out of Scotland for the rest of Tuesday. Seven other airlines — most of them regional carriers — also grounded their Scottish flights.

In Edinburgh, meanwhile, several hundred passengers faced either a patient wait or overnight stays in the city.

"I've been told I'll get home tomorrow, but who knows," said Kgeld Westh, an architect from Copenhagen. He was heading to a hotel in Edinburgh after his flight was canceled.

Among the crowds at the airport were soccer fans heading to Dublin for the international match between Scotland and Ireland.

"If all else fails we'll make our way by train and ferry," said Gary Clark, from Hamilton near Glasgow wearing a kilt and a Scotland shirt.

The main international body representing carriers, the International Air Transport Association, complained to the British government about the way it had handled the issue, saying it should have had Cessna planes ready to carry out tests, instead of relying on the weather service. British Airways said it sent its own verification flight, an Airbus A320, to Scotland late Tuesday to assess the risk.

The Grimsvotn volcano began erupting on Saturday, sending clouds of ash high into the air. The amount of ash spewing from the volcano tapered off dramatically on Tuesday, however, said Elin Jonasdottir, a forecaster at Iceland's meteorological office. She added that because the plume has decreased in height — it's now at about 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) — the ash won't travel far and will most likely fall to the ground near its source.

Earlier there were fears that the ash cloud might also affect France, but French civil aviation authority DGAC on Tuesday sounded an optimistic note.

"Forecasts for the next few days are promising, French airspace should be affected only very marginally by the volcanic ash," it said in a statement. "No closure of French airspace is currently envisioned."

U.K. airspace was not closed, but some airlines would rather not take risks and were willing to follow official advice. EasyJet had 113 cancelations Tuesday in and out of Scotland, Newcastle and Northern Ireland. British Airways grounded 92 flights in total, and Dutch airline KLM canceled a total of 42 flights. Declan Kearney, spokesman for Aer Lingus, said it had canceled 22 flights between Ireland and Scotland.

"We take the advice given to us," he said. "We have no reason to question the advice being given to us by the aviation authorities at this time. We need to accept what the experts in this area are telling us."

The ash cloud forced President Barack Obama to shorten a visit to Ireland on Monday, and has raised fears of a repeat of huge travel disruptions in Europe last year.

Last year, European aviation authorities closed vast swaths of European airspace as soon as they detected the presence of even a small amount of volcanic ash in the atmosphere. This year, they are trying a more sophisticated approach.

Aviation authorities will give airlines information detailed information about the location and density of ash clouds. Any airline that wants to fly through the ash cloud can do so, if it can convince its own national aviation regulators it is safe to do so.

The closures are already affecting travel plans across Europe. Officials at Spanish soccer team Barcelona, which plans to travel to London on Thursday for Saturday's Champions League final against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium, say they are monitoring the ash cloud disruption and could change their departure date.

In Ireland, a couple who were due to fly to Edinburgh for a friend's wedding were told their flight had been canceled. Anne and Damien Farrell decided on the spot to reclaim the car they'd just parked in Dublin Airport's long-term parking lot, drive the 100 miles (160 kilometers) north to Belfast, and take the ferry to the Scottish port of Stranraer.

"Fortunately we have a day of lead-in time before the wedding party gets going, otherwise we'd be up a certain creek without a paddle," said Damien Farrell, 29.

___

Meera Selva in London, Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin, Ben McConville in Edinburgh, Melissa Eddy in Berlin and other AP writers across Europe contributed to this report.

Yahoo! News

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.