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- Prime Minister to meet with government departments and travel "stake holders" to organise British response to crisis - IATA criticises European government’s response to crisis - UK No fly zone extended until 01:00 20/4/10 - Italy no fly zone extended until 06:00 20/4/10
Travel Desk 8:30am GMT
Volcano ash from the spewing volcano mountain Eyjafjallajoekull in Iceland is showing no signs of abating, with disruption to air travel from London, likely to continue all the way through this week. A no fly zone has been imposed on the south of England until at least 01:00 Tuesday 20 April.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sharply criticized European governments for their lack of leadership in handling airspace restrictions in light of the Icelandic volcano eruption and urged a re-think of the decision-making process.
“We are far enough into this crisis to express our dissatisfaction on how governments have managed it-with no risk assessment, no consultation, no coordination, and no leadership. This crisis is costing airlines at least $200 million a day in lost revenues and the European economy is suffering billions of dollars in lost business. In the face of such dire economic consequences, it is incredible that Europe’s transport ministers have taken five days to organize a teleconference,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
“Governments must place greater urgency and focus on how and when we can safely re-open Europe’s skies. This means decisions based on risk-management, facts and utilizing operational procedures that maintain safety,” said Bisignani.
IATA criticized Europe’s unique methodology of closing airspace based on theoretical modelling of the ash cloud. “This means that governments have not taken their responsibility to make clear decisions based on facts. Instead, it has been the air navigation service providers who announced that they would not provide service. And these decisions have been taken without adequately consulting the airlines. This is not an acceptable system particularly when the consequences for safety and the economy are so large,” said Bisignani.
“Safety is our top priority. Airlines will not fly if it is not safe. I have consulted our member airlines that normally operate in the affected airspace. They report missed opportunities to fly safely. The European system results in blanket closures of airspace. I challenge governments to agree on ways to flexibly re-open airspace. Risk assessments should be able to help us re-open certain corridors, if not entire airspaces,” said Bisignani.
There is growing annoyance amongst European airline chiefs that the no fly zones could be an over-reaction, with planes able to fly underneath the volcano ash, British Airways and other large airlines have already conducted test flights with no problems recorded.
In London Eurostar are reporting record profits, with an estimated £5 million in one days trading recorded, extra trains are in circulation, and passengers are advised to book online before travelling to St Pancras international.
The "Volcano-Crisis" has provoked a strong warning by the Conservative Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers, who has called for a "normalisation" of prices to stranded passengers and urged ferry and rail operators to retain their normal pricing structures and not to introduce sudden and excessive price increases.
She said: “This crisis is costing the economy millions of pounds every day and causing huge amounts of travel misery. Those who are stranded abroad need reassurance from the Government that they are doing all they can to help get people home and address the crisis.”
London schools are recording around a 25% per cent drop in attendance due to pupils and teachers being stranded abroad.
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