Europe's Airlines Cope with Volcanic Disruptions

air franceAs the ongoing eruption from the Iceland volcano continue to disrupt air service in Europe, several airlines are releasing statements about their schedule changes in the face of the natural disaster.

Air France

Flights on departure from and arriving at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports have been canceled until Saturday, April 17 at 8 a.m. (Paris time). Air France asks its passengers not to come to the airport.

Passengers whose flights have been canceled will be able to postpone their trip depending on availability, or request a refund through the following channels:

* Call Reservations at 800-237-2747
* Access the Contact Us section at www.airfrance.com/us
 
For passengers who have already arrived at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and who have a connecting flight, over 2,000 hotel rooms have been booked for April 16. Meal vouchers are also available.
Air France airport and sales staff are available to inform passengers whose flights have been canceled.
 
Passenger information:
Passengers can consult updated information:
* At www.airfrance.com/us, in the Flight & Destination Information section
* By calling 800-237-2747

Lufthansa

Lufthansa is proactively canceling the vast majority of its North American departures today. All North American flights scheduled to arrive in Germany before 2:00 p.m. local time in Germany tomorrow are canceled, due to the closure of German air space. Select North American departures may operate with heavy delays today. Due to the evolving situation, passengers are urged to check lufthansa.com frequently for any updates.

Customers can rebook their flights free of charge for departures before May 31 by calling Lufthansa reservations at 800-645-3880 in the U.S. or 800-563-5954 in Canada.

British Airways

All British Airways flights to and from London airports are canceled today and on Saturday April 17.

Following the lifting of flying restrictions to a large part of Scottish airspace, a number of flights from North America originally scheduled for other UK destinations, will operate into Scotland overnight. These flights are:

 * BA174 From New York (JFK) - Arriving in Glasgow (GLA)
 * BA176 From New York (JFK) - Arriving in Prestwick (PIK)
 * BA182 From New York (JFK) - Arriving in Glasgow (GLA)
 * BA194 From New York (EWR) - Arriving in Prestwick (PIK)
 * BA284 From San Francisco (SFO) - Arriving in Glasgow (GLA)
 * BA268 From Los Angeles (LAX) - Arriving in Prestwick (PIK)
 * BA102 From Calgary (YYC) Arriving in Aberdeen (ABZ)

Ground Transport will be provided to take passengers to London.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic has canceled:

 * All flights in and out of the UK on Friday April 16
 * All flights departing Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester prior to 1 p.m. (UK local time) on Saturday April 17.
 * As there are no flights departing the UK, the subsequent return flights into the UK will also be canceled.

An update regarding flights operating after 1 p.m. (UK local time) on Saturday April 17 will be made available after 10 a.m. (UK local time) on Saturday April 17.

Click here for more information on the airline's Flight Disruptions Policy.

For direct bookings only, call the flight disruption line on the following numbers:

 * 0844 209 8711 in the UK.
 * 800-862-8621 in the US.

Air Berlin

Air Berlin is canceling all flights—except for some domestic Spanish flights—until 2 p.m. on April 17.
 
Passengers affected by these cancellations are requested not to travel to the airport. Any flights until Sunday,  April 18 can be rebooked or cancelled free of charge (for flights until 31st May 2010). Further information is available online, by calling 00800 5 737 8000 toll-free in Germany, or 866-266-5588 in North America.