The fallout from the ash cloud
PhD student Carina Fearnley (Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre) assesses the lessons learned from the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano and the chaos it caused to European air travel. "After nearly six days of complete closure following renewed explosive activity from Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano, UK air space was finally reopened on 20 April. A solitary British Airways aircraft landed at London's Heathrow airport, breaking the silent night and signalling a new focus on getting travel and business back to usual. As routine conditions return, some very serious questions are being asked about whether the ban on flying had been necessary or had lasted too long. "The warning system put in place under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has been successful in preventing aircraft flying through potentially dangerous ash. But one lesson learned from this crisis is that, although the ICAO's 'any ash, no fly? policy may work over airspaces in vast countries such as the USA, where flights can easily re-route or find alternative flight paths, it has triggered unexpected levels of disruption in Europe, where a single ash cloud can cover and close down most major European airports, bringing air commerce to a standstill. "The more severe disruption in Europe does not reflect a failure in the system (which has been developed over the last 30 years), but an inadequate evaluation of the potential impact in very large and densely populated regions. "Was the European shutdown an overreaction?
