The latest dense patch of ash has already disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of people, mainly in northern parts of the UK.
Airspace over Northern Ireland was first to close on Saturday, then as the cloud moved south, Manchester closed at lunchtime on Sunday, with Birmingham following suit by the early afternoon.
An article from BBC states Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson called the closure of Manchester airport "beyond a joke".
"All the test flights by airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers have shown no evidence that airlines could not continue to fly completely safety," he said.
In another article from Sky News, CAA chief executive Andrew Haines said: "We are all working flat out to keep flying safe whilst minimising disruption from the volcano.
"We face a massive challenge to do this. Firstly because the standard default procedure for aircraft that encounter ash, to avoid it completely, doesn't work in our congested airspace.
"Secondly, the top scientists tell us that we must not simply assume the effects of this volcano will be the same as others elsewhere.
"Its proximity to the UK, the length of time it is continuously erupting and the weather patterns are all exceptional features.
"The answer can only come, therefore, from aircraft manufacturers establishing what level of ash their products can safely tolerate.
"This was agreed at an international aviation conference we held last Thursday, attended by all the leading airline operators (including Virgin and BA) where this approach was welcomed and supported. The manufacturers are co-operating fully and urgently in this task.
"It's the CAA's job to ensure the public is kept safe by ensuring safety decisions are based on scientific and engineering evidence; we will not listen to those who effectively say 'let's suck it and see'."
These two articles clearly show and discuss completely opposite ideas. The BBC article is straight forward and has an offensive tone to it. It clearly states its dissaproval with the flight restrictions. On the other hand, the Sky news article takes a more restrained approach and gives an impression of approval with the flight restrictions.
All in all, I have discussed already a couple of weeks ago, are these flight restrictions really necessary?
There are pros and cons but the underlying fact remains public safety. The only issue agravating the situation is that cancelling flights and operation for a big airliner like BA, this has economical consequences. Nevertheless, I vote for these flight restrictions if that is what keeps us safe, even if the CAA seems a little overprotective.
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