Submitted by freenet on Fri, 16/04/2010 - 15:24
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By Nthambeleni Gabara
Pretoria - South Africa's air traffic to Europe on Friday was still suspended due to a volcanic ash cloud there, caused by recent volcanic activity in Iceland.
On Thursday, South African Airways (SAA) suspended its flights scheduled for departure to and from London. Heathrow International Airport in London also closed its doors due to the volcanic ash.
As a result, the European Air Traffic Control decided to temporarily ground all flights.
"Our priority is the safety of our passengers and crew and we will monitor the situation in London closely as well as throughout Europe to ensure that operations are resumed once conditions are safe," said SAA in a statement.
All other SAA international flights other than London are currently operating as normal they said.
The following SAA flights scheduled to have departed have been cancelled; SA234 Johannesburg to London; SA235 London to Johannesburg; SA220 Cape Town to London and SA221 London to Cape Town.
Passengers booked on the above flights will be re-accommodated on alternative flights once normal operations are resume said SAA.
Air travelers are asked to contact SAA reservations on (011) 978-1111, their local SAA offices or their travel agent for assistance with rebooking their flight on an alternative date.
The European air-traffic-control authority, Euro control, has also decided to ground planes in Belgium, the Netherlands, and western parts of Germany.
Civil aviation authorities in Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland are also reported to have suspended entirely or partly cancelled flights in their airspace. - BuaNews