Recriminations fly as aerial lockdown ends

Europe gave the all-clear for its airspace yesterday as recriminations flew over refunds for stranded passengers and the $1.7 billion (€1.3 billion) cost to the airline industry.

Iceland's Eyjafjjoell volcano, which paralysed the skies above Europe for nearly a week, continued erupting, prompting several small airports in Sweden to close to passengers.

But all the continent's major air hubs were up and running again at close to full capacity with airlines struggling to clear a huge backlog of passengers.

According to Eurocontrol, the body coordinating air traffic control across the continent, the volume of flights had returned to normal.

"At the current time, almost all European airspace is available," with a few exceptions in northern Scotland and western Sweden, Eurocontrol said in a statement.

"Today Eurocontrol expects that traffic will be at normal levels of between 28,000 and 29,000 flights."

Activity at the main airport in Paris was "back to normal" while it was also business as usual at German airports, with only a handful of cancellations reported at Frankfurt airport, the country's largest.

French authorities ordered around 20 extra flights laid on to bring home stranded citizens, including from the "most critical" locations in overseas territories, China, Thailand and Madagascar, the Ecology Ministry said.

All Norwegian airspace was again open, allowing airports in the second city of Bergen and its oil capital Stavanger to get back to business.

Helicopter flights to Norwegian offshore oil platforms also resumed.

Helsinki international airport, as well as the airport in Sweden's second city Gothenburg were reopened, although the airport in Sweden's third largest city Malmoe, in the far south, closed as the ash cloud shifted.

The Danish air traffic authority Naviair also warned it could reintroduce flying restrictions if the concentration of volcanic ash in Danish skies increased.

Hundreds of thousands of travellers were left stranded across the globe by the shutdown, having to shell out for hotels, food and alternative travel arrangements.

The chief executive officer of Ireland's low-cost carrier Ryanair, Michael O'Leary, initially said he would only refund the cost of tickets bought by stranded customers but the airline later agreed to pay for food and accommodation ex-penses incurred by travellers after an outcry.

"Ryanair confirmed this morning that it will comply with EU261 regulations under which EU airlines are required to reimburse the reasonable receipted expenses (as set out in EU261) of disrupted passengers," the airline said.

In the statement, Mr O'Leary said that Ryanair would continue its efforts to change "absurd" EU legislation so reimbursements were "limited to the ticket price paid in the same way they are for train, coach and ferry operators".

Hundreds of stranded British travellers converged on the port of Santander in northern Spain from where the British warship HMS Albion brought them home to Portsmouth in southern England, where they told of their often bitter experiences.