Dutch skies slowly reopen, priority for stranded passengers

Although flights are slowly due to resume from Dutch airports on Tuesday, airlines are urging passengers not to turn up without checking first if their plane will take off, for the next few days at least.


‘Do not simply turn up at Schiphol, there is no point. People must check first on internet and teletext whether their flight is actually leaving,’ the Volkskrant quoted a KLM spokesman as saying.
European transport ministers decided on Monday the risk posed by volcanic ash from Iceland has been reduced and flying can resume in some parts of European airspace, including the Netherlands.
They had come under increasing pressure from airlines who had carried out a number of test flights without problems.
Night flights
But some restrictions will remain. In the Netherlands, for example, there will be no night-time flights and visibility must be good. ‘And it is possible that conditions change and we come back into the no-fly zone,’ Dutch transport minister Camiel Eurlings was quoted as saying by Nos tv.
On Monday evening, some 800 passengers were able to return home when three flights left for Shanghai, New York and Dubai. A plane carrying passengers from Kiev was also able to land.
According to the Telegraaf, KLM expects to be able to carry out all but six intercontinental flights on Tuesday and around half of European services. But it will be at least six days before normal service is resumed.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport says it expects it will be at least 48 hours before air traffic gets back to normal.

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