CANCELLATIONS:MORE THAN 20,000 passengers and 200 flights were affected by disruption to Irish airspace yesterday as the ash cloud from Iceland's erupting volcano drifted over the country.
Ryanair said 105 flights were cancelled affecting approximately 15,000 passengers, while Aer Lingus said it had to cancel 117 flights as all services to and from the UK and Europe were suspended until 1pm.
Some 20 flights to and from Belfast City and Belfast International airports were cancelled by easyJet.
A spokeswoman for the Dublin Airport Authority said more than 20,000 passengers and 200 flights were affected by the air space closure. A further 2,000 passengers were affected by flight restrictions at Cork airport.
A spokeswoman for Shannon Airport said the cancellation of eight flight departures and arrivals had affected 1,000 passengers at the airport.
The spokeswoman said schedules returned to normal “quickly” after restrictions were lifted at 1pm, with the exception of one flight, which passengers had to travel to Dublin to get. The 2.55pm Thomson Fly flight TOM1280, operating on behalf of Falcon Holidays, could not operate as no aircraft was available. Passengers had been told to travel to the airport as the service was due to operate. However, on arrival at Shannon they discovered there was no aircraft for them and they would have to get to Dublin to get a flight.
A Falcon Holidays spokesperson said: “We regret any inconvenience caused but . . . the safety of passengers is always the number one priority.”
Flights out of Irish airports resumed at 1pm. But the majority of flight arrivals did not resume until later in the afternoon, with most arrivals at Dublin airport cancelled up to 3.45pm.
All flight arrivals at Cork airport, with the exception of Aer Arann flight RE295P from Dublin, were cancelled up to 3.55pm.
Ryanair put on seven extra flights between Dublin and Stansted, Faro, Seville and Fuerteventura during the afternoon to repatriate stranded passengers, according to a spokeswoman for the airline.
The airline said it would be operating a further eight additional flights today between Dublin and Malaga, Gdansk, Berlin and Lodz.
The airline also said that gaps in capacity helped to accommodate passengers further.
Meanwhile, a practical complaint guide has been made available to consumers affected by the recent flight disruptions.
The package, provided by the European Commission, contains a standard complaint letter, a list of addresses where letters can be sent and advice on the use of out-of-court dispute resolution.