| LONDON -- The airport closures that have seized Europe remained in effect across much of the continent on Sunday, but the European Union said half of the continent's regularly scheduled flights could resume as early as Monday. EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas told reporters in Brussels that the current situation is "not sustainable" and that officials were working to increase air traffic without compromising passenger safety. Diego Lopez Garrido, state secretary for EU affairs for Spain, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said that weather forecasts indicate that half of Europe's flights may be able to operate on Monday. With the aviation industry facing losses estimated at $200 million a day, several carriers have already conducted test flights in hopes of putting passengers back in the air as soon as possible. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said inspection of an airliner after one such flight showed no evidence of problems resulting from the ash that has been emanating from an Icelandic volcano and fouling air travel for tens of thousands of people. Other airlines, including Air France and Lufthansa, have also conducted test flights. Neither reported any engine troubles. Meanwhile, a handful of airports have reopened. Spain reopened all its airports at 10:30 a.m. EST, but was not allowing flights to other European destinations. Germany decided to permit limited flights from some of its airports. Still, many of Europe's airports have announced they will remain closed at least through Monday. Authorities were forced to put off plans across the continent. President Obama canceled plans to attend the Polish president's funeral on Sunday, as did other world leaders, including South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In a statement released by the White House hours before his scheduled departure Saturday, Obama said: "Michelle and I continue to have the Polish people in our thoughts and prayers, and will support them in any way I can as they recover from this terrible tragedy. President Kaczynski was a patriot and close friend and ally of the United States, as were those who died alongside him, and the American people will never forget the lives they led." U.S. troops injured in Iraq and Afghanistan were being flown directly to Andrews Air Force Base for treatment in the United States rather than at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, the usual first stop for the wounded. Military planes unable to land in Germany because of the volcanic ash will refuel in midair or in Italy, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. Immediate impact In Europe, economists were assessing the longer-term impact of the historic flight disruptions, but winners and losers were emerging. Airlines and air-freight companies were the most affected, with the aviation industry facing losses estimated at $200 million a day. British Airways and other airlines said they are not insured against groundings by volcanic clouds. Rail lines were seeing booming business, however, with many adding trains and operating at standing-room-only capacity. Auto rental agencies in Paris were running out of cars, and some taxi companies were scoring enormous cross-national fares. "We have just arrived home after a 2,000 euro ($2,700) taxi ride from Courchevel in the French Alps," Michael Gore of Redditch, England, wrote on the BBC blog about the disruptions. "It was a tough decision to outlay the extra cash, which cannot be recovered from insurance, but . . . we are just relieved to be home having a nice cuppa." Hotels were also cleaning up. Although many are seeing cancellations by guests who never arrived, in most cases those losses have been more than made up for by a captive market of travelers with no place to go. Dora Paissiou, 36, said the hotel she owns in Vouliagmeni, a seaside resort town near Athens International Airport, has had a "full house" since the ash plume wafted over Europe. She described fielding calls from airlines with stranded passengers: "They call us and say, 'How many rooms do you have tonight?' And if we say 20, they take 20." A breakdown in air cargo shipments into the largest cities in Europe, including London, Paris and Berlin, left supermarkets warning of looming shortages of fresh produce. The groundings meant fruit from Africa and South America were rotting in crates in their countries of origin. Industry officials said that U.S. carriers have had to shuffle their fleets to replace planes stranded in Europe but that there have been no knock-on cancellations of U.S. domestic flights. Faintly bright spots Once the skies clear, passengers trying to rebook -- from the United States in particular -- are likely to face long delays. As airlines have cut costs, they have also reduced capacity over the past two years, meaning there will be few spare seats when flights resume. "Even if Heathrow opens tomorrow, it's probably going to be days before you get on a flight," said Steven Lott, spokesman for the North America branch of the International Air Transport Authority. One bright spot appeared in Iceland, where Foreign Ministry officials noted somewhat decreased activity early Saturday at the bellowing volcano. But they said that the eruption pattern had not seemed to change much since Eyjafjallajokull blew Wednesday and that the duration of the eruption was anybody's guess. Prevailing winds have left Iceland's one major airport, in Reykjavik, open for business. And Icelanders are deriving amusement from foreign broadcasters' mangled attempts at the mouthful that is Eyjafjallajokull (EY-ya-fyat-lah-YOH-kuht). On Friday, Savannah Guthrie, co-host of MSNBC's "Daily Rundown," asked a colleague to pronounce the name and then said: "It's like you took the alphabet, threw it up in the air and let the letters land where they were." Others, meanwhile, were reveling in the groundings. For residents of the area around Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest, the empty skies offered a rare respite. "It's been wonderful," said Monica Robb, 80, who on Saturday afternoon was sitting in her back garden under a clear, blue sky, enjoying a lunch of toast and fruit. "I can hear the bees humming." Staff writer Peter Finn in Washington contributed to this report. |