Britain Re-Opens Airspace

Planes have returned to British skies starting at 10pm GMT tonight (5pm ET) as the United Kingdom allowed a phased reboot of its airports. A quote from the delightfully-named Transportation Minister Lord Andrew Adonis: “It is essential that we guarantee to the travelling public that the airlines are safe and that planes can safely fly.” I do fervently hope that whatever plane I end up taking back to DC will, indeed, make it through the ash alright. In the meantime, the return of air travel also means the return of air freight — and not a moment too soon, as I note here in a story about why it’s impossible to find a pineapple or tuna sushi anywhere in London.