Brussels, 25/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 25 May, the European Commission, European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and EUROCONTROL (European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) gave their approval for new guidelines on flights in airspace affected by volcanic ash. The new rules grant greater flexibility in decision-making by member states with regard to the management of airspace that has been affected by this phenomenon. The rules also outline the procedures that should be applied when aeroplanes enter airspace contaminated by ash. The Commission and EUROCONTROL also officially set up the European Aviation Crisis Coordination Cell (EACCC), which will be activated in the event of major disturbances to air traffic in Europe.
Guidelines adopted and published by EASA add a fourth security zone to the other three agreed by transport ministers at the outset (and by EUROCONTROL member states) (EUROPE 10122). The zones will be set up according to contamination forecasts made by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) for EUROCONTROL. The latter will establish graphic mapping, dividing airspace into four zones: - no-fly zone (black): flight in this zone is prohibited due to predicted ash concentration levels exceeding acceptable engine manufactures' tolerances; - enhanced procedures zone (grey): in this zone, flight operations can be authorised by the competent national authority of the operator under certain conditions, and provided they are manageable by the national air traffic management organisation (or air traffic management service provider). Flights in the grey zone may be limited by operational and/or technical restrictions; - enhanced procedures zone (red): in this zone flight operations are allowed without restrictions, provided the operator follows either the recommendations for flights into airspace with a low contamination of volcanic ash produced by the aircraft and engine manufacturers, or the inspections recommended by EASA; - normal zone (white): normal flight operations apply. Contamination thresholds pertaining to the respective zones identified here can be referenced in the volcanic ash concentration charts levels found in each of the zones, in view of helping the national authorities in their decisions. The zones will be defined according to the volcanic ash tolerance levels defined by the aeroplane manufacturers.
In the zones that have potentially been affected by volcanic ash (enhanced procedures zone), two kinds of procedure will be applicable, including a global security level developed by EASA. Flight operators operating in this zone will be obliged to carry out a daily series of inspections to ascertain whether there has been any erosion or accumulation of ash on the sensitive component parts of the aircraft (the wings, compressors, turbines and aircraft pitot etc). Pilots will be obliged to inform EASA about any abnormal events occurring during a flight (acrid odours; ash in the cockpit; St Elmo's fire, sudden darkness, fluctuations in speed etc). Two approaches will be authorised (following approval from the competent authorities of each EU member state) to allow flights in the grey zone. The first grants initiative to operators that wish to cross airspace affected by ash. They will have to present their national authorities with a security document that, according to EASA, should contain at least a risk assessment in accordance with the kind of aircraft being flown, which is developed in compliance with ICAO procedures and data from the manufacturer of each aircraft and engine, as well as supplementary inspection results (health checks) established by the industry. The second approach gives the national authorities priority to authorise operations in the grey zone with or without restrictions, depending on the result of test flights. If these flights demonstrate that the aviation operations can continue in complete safety, the grey zone in question should be declassified and open to flights. Test flight analyses should immediately be sent to VAAC, EUROCONTROL and EASA. In these two cases, flight operators should be informed of existing procedures and include (during the flight) additional sufficient fuel so that the aircraft can take an alternative route in the event of problems. Alternative routes defined should take into account the possibility of carrying out operations where the power is off or where there is the risk of decompression.
By publishing these guidelines, EASA has acknowledged that volcanic ash can damage parts of the engine but that this ash is less harmful to piston engine aircraft and gliders. A series of test flights took place during the week of 11 May after the arrival of a second cloud of ash from the Icelandic volcano of Eyjafjalajokull. According to the EU Observer, aircraft owned by Spanish Vueling Airlines encountered a problem of decompression. Ryanair detected minimum quantities of ash on two of its aircraft, although no trace of ash was detected during test flights by British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France/KLM. Airlines and airports in Europe have welcomed the publication of these guidelines. (A.By./transl.fl)