Even as flag carriers struggle to curb their losses amid a dip in long-haul air travel, budget airline Ryanair announced Tuesday it had bounced back into profit last year and would issue the first shareholder dividend in its history.
In this edition: Berber activists in Algeria use the 30th anniversary of a Berber uprising to call for autonomy for their region of Kabylie; empty seats at an international conference on natural gas in Algeria’s second city of Oran as a cloud of volcanic ash over Europe’s skies disrupts travel; and a bumper harvest for Moroccan farmers after 15 years of drought.
EU transport ministers have agreed to open limited airspace corridors to ease the transport chaos caused by the volcanic ash cloud. Officials will later discuss the economic impact of the restrictions on the airline industry.
Airlines have slammed EU governments over strict no-fly rules and delays in re-opening airspace closed by the volcanic ash cloud. The travel chaos is costing airlines an estimated $250 million a day.
Monday morning, many travelers were unable to get to work. Grounded flights have left people stranded in the four corners of the world. One of their pressing concerns is the impact the delays will have on their wallets.
Officials hope to increase flights in Europe Monday as the EU summoned ministers for talks to find a solution to the air travel crisis that has thrown the continent into chaos for the past five days, with an estimated 63,000 flights cancelled.
The Spanish EU presidency said on Sunday that it was possible that 50 percent of European flights could go forward on Monday following days of massive travel disruptions caused by clouds of ash from a volcano in Iceland.
The impact of the Icelandic volcano ash plume, which has brought air traffic to a grinding halt, is expected to last for several days, experts say. Scroll down to follow the ash cloud’s progress and for weather reports.
