Etihad Airways said on Monday it had reinstated services to Milan, following the volcanic ash which suspended services to UK, Russian Federation and European services this week.
EY81 from Abu Dhabi to Milan, departed UAE at 8am on Monday morning and is the first of a number of destinations expected to resume services across Europe over the next 24-36 hours.
Based on the latest information from the Met Office, the UK’s National Air Traffic Service said on Monday that the current restrictions across UK controlled airspace due to the volcanic ash cloud will remain in place until at least 1am (4am UAE time) on Tuesday.
Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan said: “We are progressively opening services to our guests, as we are permitted by air safety authorities.
“Yesterday we opened Moscow, now Milan and we are waiting on approval to reinstate flights to destinations across Germany, France and Switzerland later today.”
Etihad Airways added that it did not anticipate any services to resume to UK or Ireland for the next 24 hours, as volcanic ash continues to prevent all air traffic.
“As restrictions lift, we are doing everything in our power to have all Etihad passengers flying again without delay”, Hogan said.
“Our focus throughout this week has been on ensuring our guests are safe and comfortable during this difficult time. We will continue to ensure they are well looked after until they arrive at their final destination.”
The disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption has cost Emirates Airline in excess of $50m, the Dubai carrier said in a statement on Sunday.
The airline said it is losing revenue from 18,000 passengers a day as airspace across the UK and much of Europe remains closed. Around 30 Emirates aircraft are grounded, equivalent to one fifth of the fleet, the statement said.
And the impact of the ash cloud showed no signs of abating as the airline announced that all flights to the UK scheduled to leave Dubai on Monday had been cancelled – the fifth day of disruptions.
