Air carriers slammed governments today for their "blanket approach" to the volcano crisis that paralysed European airspace for a fifth day, with Britain announcing it would deploy two Navy warships on a dramatic operation to rescue 150,000 Britons stranded abroad.
Airlines voiced growing anger at the mass shutdown that has left millions of passengers stranded, as European transport ministers prepared to hold a video conference to work out how to get around the chaos.
Around 30 per cent of the scheduled flights, an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 compared to the usual 28,000, were expected to take off today, mostly in the southern parts of the continent that are still untroubled by the volcanic ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallokull volcano, Eurocontrol said.
Slamming the governments, the International Air Transport Association expressed dissatisfaction with how governments have managed the crisis, "with no risk assessment, no consultation, no coordination and no leadership".
Contending that the decision to close the European airspace was based on theory rather than facts, the IATA asked the governments to deal the issue with "greater urgency".
Nearly seven million passengers have been affected by the closures which governments say are essential for safety reasons.
After a meeting of his emergency planning committee, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Royal warships HMS Ark Royal and HMS Ocean will be made available for a relief effort to rescue stranded Britons.
Brown announced that Spain's Madrid airport, which remained clear of the ash cloud, is likely to be used as a hub for stranded Britons returning from Asia, Africa and the US.
Travellers could then be ferried by bus and train to Spanish and Channel ports, to be picked up by the Navy ships. Pressure has been mounting on the government to end the flight ban which is costing airlines up to 200 million pounds a day.
"I think the first thing we have got to see is the safety of air passengers which is of paramount importance," Brown, flanked by Transport Secretary Lord Adonis and Foreign Secretary David Miliband, told reporters.
All the major airports in Western Europe remained close but authorities in Sweden, Romania, Croatia and the Czech Republic announced the resumption of flights.
Switzerland and Denmark allowed aircraft to fly through their airspace but only above specific altitudes.
Some European carriers, including Air France, British Airways and KLM, who held test flights said they reported no problems. They had launched test flights yesterday and today to test fears that the ash cloud would destroy jet engines.
