Despite the euphoria that greeted the resumption of flights and the reopening of airspaces across Europe especially, airlines are still grappling with the challenge of airlifting the backlog of passengers that have been stranded across the globe since last week. The skies over Britain, which was the worst hit, were reopened last Tuesday night after a U-turn over the risk posed by volcanic ash in the air. However, if indications by scientists were anything to go by, there might be worse volcanic trouble ahead from another mountain in Iceland. All restrictions were lifted and not expected to be re-imposed. Reports said passengers began arriving back at Heathrow around 10.00 p.m. on Tuesday, but the task of airlifting everyone stranded by the six-day disruption would take many days. The decision was made after ministers, airlines and aviation officials agreed on the level of volcanic ash through which it was safe to fly. Officials said they had faced an unprecedented situation and imposed the ban so they could gather crucial data. The situation appeared to have hit hard the Ghanaian market too as most airlines resumed operations just last week. British Airways, Lufthansa, Emirates and KLM were amongst the airlines that recommenced operations. The airlines had complained about huge losses that the disruption in their operations had caused. Ghana International Airlines (GIA) also restarted operations on Wednesday with its first flight from Accra to Gatwick in the United Kingdom, but predicted that the national carrier lost about $500,000 in revenue from the suspension of operations. Scores of Ghanaians who were returning to their base in Europe especially the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany, expressed their frustration at the suspension of flights which some said had affected them economically. Ama Agyemang, a Ghanaian residing in London who came on brief holidays told BUSINESS GUIDE at the Kotoka International Airport that the suspension of airlines due to the Icelandic volcano had affected her income since she had been absent from work. Another Ghanaian, Maxwell Amoah, who works in a reputable institution in Amsterdam, also expressed worry over the flight halt, saying, it had affected him severely. Some Ghanaian exporters were also not left out, as Blue Skies, the local exporter of fresh produce, was hugely affected with revenue losses running into some 120,000 pounds, officials said. Airlines had been increasingly frustrated by the restrictions. British Airways Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, told reporters last week in London that it was unnecessary to impose a blanket ban on all United Kingdom (UK) airspace. Most of the cost was incurred by Europe's airlines, with BA losing up to £20 million daily. The European airline sector was already expected to lose $2.2 billion this year and some analysts had warned that the ash cloud could drive weaker airlines out of business. Margaret Stan, who was at the counter of KLM in Heathrow Airport, told The Guardian that they were happy that the restrictions were eventually lifted. She however stated that the carriers were trying to cope with backlogs, adding that “we intend to operate more flights to minimize people from suffering further”. It was however a beehive of activities at the two busiest airports in the UK- Heathrow and Gatwick- which looked like ghost towns on Monday and early Tuesday, as travellers besieged the counters of airlines, particularly those on long haul operations, to ascertain when it would be their turn to travel. Dissatisfied with the manner the situation was handled, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the clearing house for international airlines, in a statement said the cost of the disruption to the global airline industry caused by the volcanic ash cloud had hit $1.7 billion. IATA, which was also demanding that European governments compensate the airline industry, initially estimated that airlines were losing $200 million daily. Source: Felix Dela Klutse/Business Guide