Brussels, 25/08/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 24 August, the European Aviation Crisis Coordination Cell met to discuss the risks associated with eruption of the Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland. So far there have not been any flight disruptions and the red alert on Saturday 23 August was downgraded to orange on Sunday afternoon.
Risk of eruption. Memories of the aviation crisis caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 (100,000 flights cancelled, 8 million passengers stranded) have led to fears of the worst, with another Icelandic volcano looking like it is going to erupt. This volcano became active again last week, although it has been inactive since 2010. If it does erupt, the smoke released from it will consist of water vapour and fragmented lava, which are dangerous to aircraft. The corrosive ash could damage engines by blocking the suction of air they need to operate. Iceland is a strategic passage point for flights between Europe and North America. On Saturday evening 23 August, the country's weather forecast services declared a red alert, announcing imminent eruption and closing local airspace. The alert was downgraded to orange (high probability of an eruption) on Sunday afternoon.
Crisis cell. In order to assess what measures should be taken in the event of an eruption, the European Aviation Crisis Coordination Cell met on 24 August. The Cell was set up in 2010, following the aviation crisis caused by the clouds of volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajökull. It brings together the European Commission, Eurocontrol, the European Aviation Security Agency (EASA), airlines and member states affected - in this case, the United Kingdom, Iceland and the Scandinavian countries. So far, there is no question of closing down European airspace, as was the case in 2010. Nonetheless, the crisis cell remains on its guard and ready to take action in the event of an eruption. The spokesperson for the European commissioner for transport, Helen Kearns, informed EUROPE that the EU was “better prepared than ever” for such a possibility because “the systems are better and preparation is excellent. We think that disruption will be at a minimum”.
Critical threshold increased. Since 2010, EASA's critical threshold for suspending flights has been increased by 2 milligrams (mg) of ashes per metric cube to 4 mg, following more detailed studies that have been carried out since then. EASA is recommending that member states only close down their airspace as a last resort. It is therefore very unlikely that there will be any repetition of the previous crisis, which would be extremely serious for the airlines. (MD)