Society

Air China resumes flights to Europe after volcanic ash disruption

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-20 21:47

BEIJING - Air China, the nation's flagship international carrier, Tuesday announced the restoration of some services to Europe as air traffic controls imposed in the wake of a volcanic eruption in Iceland were eased over the continent.

Flights from Beijing to Moscow, Stockholm and Rome had resumed from Tuesday, said Zhu Mei, spokeswoman of Air China.

Flights to London, Paris and Frankfurt were still suspended as volcanic ash continued to disrupt air traffic, and some airspace and airports were yet to reopen, Zhu said.

The company would closely monitor developments and adjust its service accordingly, she said.

On Friday, the company canceled the majority of its flights to Europe due to the enormous ash clouds.

The eruption on Wednesday last week has led to an almost complete shutdown of European airspace in the past five days, stranding millions of passengers and causing huge losses to the aviation industry.

Air carriers were losing 270 million U.S. dollars per day due to the disruption, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The European Union announced Monday that it would ease air traffic restrictions from Tuesday, bringing relief to passengers stranded around the world.

Shares of Air China rose 4 percent to close at 13.51 yuan (1.98 U.S.dollars) on Tuesday in China's mainland stock market.