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Hundreds of flights in Europe have been cancelled after heavy snow has closed airports, stranding thousands of passengers.

Germany was particularly hard hit as 450 flights were grounded. Snowstorkms saw schools across the country close as traffic on the roads was brought to a standstill.

Airports in the Netherlands were also closed causing at least 30 flight cancellations at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Swiss airports at Geneva and Zurich were facing significant delays.

source: britainnews.net

Although most Spanish airports were getting back to normal yesterday many thousands of passengers remained stranded as airlines struggled to clear the backlog of an air traffic controllers’ strike that paralysed the country for more than two days.

The traffic controllers were warned that they faced charges of sedition and military disobedience, with possible jail sentences of up to five years if they failed to report for work. The majority complied and yesterday worked under military supervision. Disciplinary investigations have been opened against 440 controllers, with possibly more to follow, said Mr Blanco. Deputy prime minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the military would stay in the control towers for at least a fortnight and that the state of alert could be prolonged if necessary.

source: irishtimes.com

Strike action by French public sector workers has been causing major disruption to air and rail services across the country.

Hundreds of domestic and European flights have been cancelled, and public transport in major cities has been seriously hit.

Some 80% of all flights across France were to be cancelled, the French civil aviation office said.

National carrier Air France said it was cancelling 55% of its short- and medium-haul flights. All long-haul services will continue to operate.

Many airlines are offering refunds to affected passengers.

source: BBC News

Spirit Airlines has announced the cancellation of even more flights through Thursday due to the strike by pilots, which started on Saturday. To help passengers with the cancellations, the carrier says that they will be given flight credits for the full cost of their tickets, as well as an extra $100 credit to use on future flights. However, customers can also choose to get a full refund.

On Saturday morning, hundreds of pilots began industrial action after talks over pay failed with Spirit Airlines. The two sides tried to reach an agreement through the night, but were unable to come to a resolution.

source: mns.co.uk

As Europe grounded most airline flights for a fourth day Sunday because of a volcanic ash cloud spreading from Iceland, increasingly desperate airlines ran test flights to show that flying was safe and pressed aviation authorities to loosen the flight ban.

Airlines complained that European governments were overreacting, relying on incomplete data from computer models rather than real-world safety tests in the air above Europe. In a blunt statement Sunday, representatives of Europe’s airlines and airports called for “‘an immediate reassessment of the present restrictions.'”

source: The Seattle Times

Shutting down Britain’s airspace could cost airlines more than £100 million if the disruption carries on into the weekend.

The wider economy will also suffer as tourists, businessmen and cargo, including fresh food for supermarkets, are unable to get into the country.

British Airways grounded hundreds of flights yesterday but is yet to calculate the potential losses. In the past, similar standstills caused by fog have cost the airline between £10 million and £20 million a day.

The disruption to services had an immediate impact on Ryanair after the airline grounded all of its British and Irish flights. More than £70 million was wiped off the company’s market value.

There have only been a couple of other examples of large-scale disruption caused by volcanoes. One incident in Alaska in 1989 resulted in the cancellation of North American flights for several days. US airlines estimated the disruption cost them $100 million.

source: Times Online

British Airways’ cabin crew have voted for strike action over two consecutive weekends in March: a three-day walkout March 20-22 and a four-day walkout March 27-30.

The strikes will involve 12,000 flight attendants and will affect more than half a million BA passengers. As promised, there will be no strikes over the Easter period, but further strike action will take place after April 14 if no deal has been reached by then.

source: OnTheShow.com

Unions representing Spanish airline Iberia’s cabin crews have announced a further eight days of strikes unless a pay agreement can be reached. The dates for the proposed strikes are 30 November to 2 December, and 14 December to 18 December.

The airline has already been forced to ground hundreds of flights this week due to strike action.

Most of the affected flights have been short and medium-haul.

source: BBC

Thousands of people were forced to wait for hours at the Essex airport as police grappled with protesters who invaded the runway after using bolt cutters to slice through a perimeter fence.

The strike – just after 3am when the airport closed for maintenance – was organised by Plane Stupid to highlight Government’s “‘hypocrisy'” for allowing a new runway at the airport while claiming to be looking for ways to cut CO2 emissions.

The result was 57 arrests, 52 cancelled flights and around 100 more – operated by some 30 airlines – delayed.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Travellers to Greece face further disruptions today as a strike by airport staff forces the cancellation of hundreds of flights. The 24-hour strike is part of a general strike orchestrated by Greece’s largest union, the GSEE, against the government’s economic policies.

The disruption comes as violent protests in Greece entered a fourth day, with 6000 people attending the teenage boy’s funeral whose death sparked the civil unrest.

source: the age