On a sort of existential level I find the whole "global air traffic brought to a grinding halt by volcanic ash" ironic. On a more practical level however I'm supposed to be heading to Cape Town then on to Mombasa, all via London Heathrow, in about a week. At the moment Air Canada has canceled all flights into Heathrow, and will make their decisions on a daily basis. We have a great travel agent that we use here at Delta House/Linwood House, and Jan and I have been in touch today.
She sent me this interesting bit for you flight geeks out there.
LONDON (AFP) – British Airways completed a test flight Sunday with chief executive Willie Walsh on board as they gauged the safety of flying through the volcanic ash cloud.
The Boeing 747 jumbo jet flew from London Heathrow Airport out over Ireland and the Atlantic Ocean for nearly three hours before returning to Cardiff, where BA has an engineering and maintenance base.
Walsh joined a four-strong team of pilots and engineers on board.
"The purpose of the flight is to collect data on the presence of ash in UK airspace," a BA spokeswoman told AFP.
BA said beforehand that the test flight would reach a height of 9,100 metres.
After landing in the Welsh capital, the jet taxied to the airline's maintenance facilities to undergo examination while data gathered during the flight was scrutinised.
The results of tests during the flight would be looked at further on Monday before any firm conclusion was drawn, a BA spokesman said.
The aircraft took off at 5:58 pm and landed at 8:41pm.
Earlier, BA announced it has cancelled all inbound and outbound London flights scheduled for Monday, due to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland.
"Following further information from the Met Office about the path of the volcanic ash affecting UK airspace and airlines, there will continue to be severe disruption to our schedule," BA said in a brief statement.
"All British Airways flights to and from London airports are cancelled on Sunday 18 and Monday 19 April."
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