Ash delays Canadian troops headed to Afghanistan - CTV

[Yrys]

Ash delays Canadian troops headed to Afghanistan


The cloud of volcanic ash that continues to wreak havoc on civilian air travel
to Europe is also affecting military air travel to Afghanistan. 200 troops from
Canadian Forces Base Petawawa were supposed to ship out to Afghanistan
on Thursday, but their travel plans were interrupted when European airports
cancelled and delayed flights because of the cloud of ash drifting in the air
along an Atlantic Ocean flight path.

"They were supposed to have left yesterday, but the delay has changed things,"
Lieut. Dennis Power, public affairs officer for the 2 Canadian Mechanized Group,
told CTV.ca Friday. "Once the airports are open, then we'll start moving troops."
The flight to Afghanistan typically involves a stop at an airport somewhere in
Europe, he said.

Power says delays in flights to Afghanistan are not unusual -- winter air travel is
occasionally delayed by snow or ice storms -- and the army's troop movement
plans have a built-in flexibility to account for delays. "Operationally, this doesn't
have a huge impact. It's not unusual for us to have delays for one reason or
another," Power said.

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland erupted Wednesday. Two days later,
an ash cloud is drifting along an Atlantic Ocean flight path between six and 11
kilometres above the ground. This has created temporary and fluctuating no-fly
zones across Europe, including Britain, Ireland, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
Finland and Belgium. Many flights out of Germany and Poland have also been halted.


Volcanic ash: Flight chaos to continue into weekend, BBC

 

[GAP]

Ash delays Canadian troops headed to Afghanistan
Article Link

CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Fri. Apr. 16 2010 11:01 AM ET

The cloud of volcanic ash that continues to wreak havoc on civilian air travel to Europe is also affecting military air travel to Afghanistan.

200 troops from Canadian Forces Base Petawawa were supposed to ship out to Afghanistan on Thursday, but their travel plans were interrupted when European airports cancelled and delayed flights because of the cloud of ash drifting in the air along an Atlantic Ocean flight path.

"They were supposed to have left yesterday, but the delay has changed things," Lieut. Dennis Power, public affairs officer for the 2 Canadian Mechanized Group, told CTV.ca Friday. "Once the airports are open, then we'll start moving troops."

The flight to Afghanistan typically involves a stop at an airport somewhere in Europe, he said.

Power says delays in flights to Afghanistan are not unusual -- winter air travel is occasionally delayed by snow or ice storms -- and the army's troop movement plans have a built-in flexibility to account for delays.

"Operationally, this doesn't have a huge impact. It's not unusual for us to have delays for one reason or another," Power said.

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland erupted Wednesday.

Two days later, an ash cloud is drifting along an Atlantic Ocean flight path between six and 11 kilometres above the ground.

This has created temporary and fluctuating no-fly zones across Europe, including Britain, Ireland, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Belgium. Many flights out of Germany and Poland have also been halted.
end