Thunder Bay Unaffected by Ash Cloud from Iceland Eruption

In Thunder Bay News On April 04, 2010 Add A Comment

Although the ash from last week’s volcanic eruption in Iceland is now making its way into Newfoundland’s airspace, the Thunder Bay Airport Authority isn’t worried about meeting the same problems that crippled incoming flights into Northwestern Ontario from Europe.

Ed Schmidtke, the airport’s manager of business development, predicts the ash clouds to dissipate before making it to the city. He’s confident that the airport’s departing and arriving flights will continue as scheduled, despite the number of affected airports in North America.

According to Katie Zuber, general manager for Mytravel Thunder Bay Travel, they’ve only received a few calls from stranded passengers in Europe. It’s a good thing that not many people are traveling overseas right now, she said.

Zuber added that it’s tough not being able to help stranded passengers because when it comes right down to it, there’s not much they can do when planes don’t leave the tarmac.

It’s worth noting that there aren’t that many people from Thunder Bay who leave the city during this time of the year. Those who do travel to Europe mainly do it to visit family and relatives. Zuber pointed out that flights usually peak around May and June.

Canadian officials are closely monitoring Iceland’s seismic activity for another possible eruption, one that could be more disastrous to air travel.

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