Air Malta said this afternoon that the flight to take the Pope back to Rome tomorrow is expected to operate normally, and that it will be operating an additional 10 flights on its schedule.

Air Malta will fly the Pope back to Rome tomorrow after he arrives today on a chartered Alitalia flight.

Air Malta will operate the extra flights in an effort to quickly clear the backlog which developed over the past three days as a cloud of volcanic ash from a volcano in Iceland closed airspace on central and northern Europe.

EasyJet this morning cancelled its flight from Rome to Malta while Air Malta scrapped its flights from Malpensa (Milan) and Bologna as a cloud of volcanic ash from an Icelandic volcano drifted southward towards Italy and air transport misery across Europe continued into a third day.

Airspace remains closed over much of Northern and Central Europe. Airlines have so far today also cancelled flights to Malta from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton. Bournemouth, Copenhagen Oslo, Domodedovo, Frankfurt, Dublin, Viena, Paris, Dusseldorf, Munich and Amsterdam.

Joe Sultana, head of network operations at European air control agency Eurocontrol, said the situation was unprecedented. Eurocontrol said it was up to each country to decide when flights should be resumed, based on whether there was clear air, which depended on wind direction.

The plume of ash from what the British press has dubbed as the Icelandic 'Vilecano' is floating through the upper atmosphere, where it can wreak havoc on jet engines and airframes.

Vulcanologists say the ash could cause problems to air traffic for up to six months if the eruption continues. The financial impact on airlines could be significant.

Irish airline Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost carrier, said it would cancel flights to and from northern European countries until 1200 GMT on Monday.

Delta Air Lines, the world's largest airline, cancelled 75 flights between the United States and European Union countries yesterday and more cancellations will be made today.

The volcano began erupting on Wednesday for the second time in a month from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, hurling a plume of ash 6 to 11 km (4 to 7 miles) into the atmosphere.

Officials said it was still spewing magma and although the eruption could abate in the coming days, ash would continue drifting into the skies of Europe.

In 1982, a British Airways jumbo jet lost power in all its engines when it flew into an ash cloud over Indonesia, gliding towards the ground before it was able to restart its engines.

The incident prompted the aviation industry to rethink the way it prepared for ash clouds.

In addition to travel problems, health officials said the volcanic ash could also prove harmful to those with breathing difficulties.

The air problems have proved a boon for other transport firms. All 58 Eurostar trains between Britain and Europe were operating full, carrying some 46,500 passengers, and a spokeswoman said they would consider adding more services.

AIR MALTA STATEMENT

Air Malta said that this morning it was announced that the airspace in the following countries will remain closed; UK until 8 p.m., Belgian and Dutch until 6 p.m., French until 2 p.m. and German until 2 p.m.

Air Malta was forced to cancel 26 flights but was able to operate 25.

Since there was no improvement in the situation this morning Air Malta said it had to cancel the following flights – Malta - Reggio Calabria – Paris – KM466/7, Vienna – KM512/3 - London Heathrow - KM 100/1, to London Gatwick - KM 116/7, to Amsterdam - KM396/7, to Dusseldorf - KM352/3, to Milan – KM 626/7, to Munich – KM306/7, - and to Bologna – KM630.

Air Malta said that subject to the lifting of airspace restrictions, it has confirmed slots to operate three extra flights over and above its normal schedule. (All times local)

KM3482	dep	Catania	1700hrs	arr	Rome	1800hrs
KM3483	dep	Rome	1900hrs	arr	Catania	2000hrs
KM3612	dep	Malta	1430hrs	arr	Rome	1600hrs
KM3613	dep	Rome	2100hrs	arr	Malta	2230hrs
KM3614	dep	Malta	1800hrs	arr	Rome	1930hrs
KM3615	dep	Rome	2105hrs	arr	Malta	2235hrs

Tomorrow, subject to airspace restrictions, Air Malta has confirmed that it will be operating ten flights out of its scheduled 50, (20% of its normal schedule). Tomorrow’s flight schedule will be as follows (all times local). All other flights will be cancelled.

Air Malta will be operating either

KM626	Dep	Malta	0825hrs	arr	Milan	1025hrs
KM627	Dep	Milan	1115hrs	arr	Malta	1315hrs

or

KM3612	dep	Malta	0825hrs	arr	Rome	1000hrs	Extra Flights
KM3613	dep	Rome	2200hrs	arr	Malta	2330hrs

Air Malta will also be operating tomorrow the following flights:

KM614	dep	Malta	1530hrs	arr	Rome	1700hrs
KM615	dep	Rome	1800hrs	arr	Malta	1930hrs
KM1950	dep	Malta	1915hrs	arr	Rome (Ciampino)	2045hrs	Papal Flight
KM642	dep	Malta	2100hrs	arr	Catania	2145hrs
KM643	dep	Catania	2245hrs	arr	Malta	2330hrs
KM436	dep	Malta	2145hrs	arr	Marseille	2325hrs
KM437	dep	Marseille	0010*hrs	arr	Malta	0205*hrs

*-denotes next day

Air Malta said it is offering its passengers free re-booking on any Air Malta operated scheduled flight or full refund of ticket. For any re-booking or re-routing enquiries clients can contact Air Malta’s International Call Centre on +356 21662211. The call centre will remain open until midnight and will open again for business at 0500hrs (local time).

Clients due to travel from Malta International Airport were advised to contact flight enquiries on tel: 5004 3333 for further information and to confirm flight arrival / departure times.