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New crisis management measures for future European volcanic ash crises
Expanded airspace closure guidelines issued and a European Aviation Crisis Coordination Cell created.
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Outcome of the EU Extraordinary Transport Council
A statement by Siim Kallas Vice-President of the European Commission after the Extraordinary Transport Council which took place on 4th May to discuss contingency plans for a future volcanic ash crisis.
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Latest UK airspace and airport closures
INITITAL REPORT:7.30 BST 15th April
A volcanic eruption in Iceland has sent a stream of volcanic ash across the UK. This has resulted in the National Air Traffic Service taking the unusual step of restricting access to UK airspace. All flights in Scotland are currently suspended and many others across the UK, causing major business continuity problems for UK airports and related airlines.
UPDATE: 9.19 BST 15th April
- Many Scandinavian airports also closed.
- Given current weather conditions the crisis could continue for the next
few days.
UPDATE: 10.00 BST 15th April
The National Air Traffic Service has said that all UK airspace will be closed from midday today until 6pm at the latest. No flights will be allowed into or out of UK airspace except in an emergency situation.
UPDATE: 11.00 BST 15th April
MetOffice forecasts for the movement of the ash cloud can be viewed here.
UPDATE: 12.00 BST 15th April
For the first time since Sept 11th 2001 all UK airspace is closed.
UPDATE: 15.00 BST 15th April
UK airspace will now remain closed until at least
0700, Friday 16 April.
UPDATE: 8.00 BST 16th April
NATS advises that restrictions will remain in place in UK controlled airspace until 1900 (UK time) today.
UPDATE: 8.30 BST 16th April
NATS advises that restrictions preventing flights in English controlled airspace will remain in place until 0100 (UK time) tomorrow, Saturday 17 April, at the earliest.
UPDATE: 16.15 BST 16th April
NATS advises that restrictions still remain in place but some flights are being reinstated. (See below).
UPDATE: 09.30 BST 17th April
NATS advises that the situation is fluid. The restrictions currently in place across UK controlled airspace will remain in place until at least 0100 (UK time) tomorrow, Sunday 18 April. Most European airports are also affected.
UPDATE: 20.30 BST 17th April
NATS advises that the restrictions currently in place across UK controlled airspace will remain in place until at least 1300 (UK time) tomorrow, Sunday 18 April.
UPDATE: 22.00 BST 18th April
NATS advises that the current restrictions across UK controlled airspace due to the volcanic ash cloud will remain in place until at least 1900 (local time) on Monday 19 April.
UPDATE: 07.15 BST 19th April
NATS reiterates that current restrictions across UK controlled airspace due to the volcanic ash cloud will remain in place until at least 1900 (local time) on Monday 19 April.
COBRA meeting this morning to discuss the crisis.
UPDATE: 07.45 BST 19th April:
Volcanic ash cloud: European Commission analyses the impacts
New ad-hoc group will assess the impact of the situation and recommend EU-wide response measures.
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UPDATE: 10.00 BST 19th April
NATS advises that the current restrictions across UK controlled airspace due to the volcanic ash cloud will remain in place until at least 0100 (local) on Tuesday 20th April.
UPDATE: 10.30 BST 19th April
The latest MetOffice charts show that volcanic ash will remain a problem for much of UK and European air space until at least the end of Thursday 22nd April. View the latest charts. The ash cloud is also moving eastwards and so could also start to affect far eastern parts of North American airspace shortly.
UPDATE: 13.00 BST 19th April
Press statement by Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport
Highlights:
- Over the last two days, the European Commission, with the assistance of Eurocontrol, has been co-ordinating a series of intensive meetings with national aviation authorities, air traffic control services, the airlines, airports and scientists.
- Current situation not sustainable. It is now clear that we cannot just wait until this ash cloud dissipates.
- The most urgent task is to see if stronger European co-ordination of airspace management can maximise the airspace available without compromising safety.
- The European Commission and Eurocontrol are co-chairing an extraordinary meeting in Brussels to try to deal with this issue.
Plans to help repatriate stranded Britons
The UK Government has announced plans to help repatriate British travelers stranded by the volcanic ash cloud in the atmosphere.
Two Royal Navy ships, HMS Ark Royal and HMS Ocean, have been deployed to the Channel to help with the relief effort.
The Government will also be working with the Spanish authorities to use their airports, which are currently outside the volcanic ash zone, as a hub to repatriate British travelers.
UPDATE: 15.25 BST 19th April
NATS delays the next sit rep until 16.00 BST in the light of reports that the Eyjafjallajoekull eruption is rapidly reducing in intensity.
UPDATE: 15.40 BST 19th April
NATS has now published its delayed update. The situation is improving and some UK airspace will be open from 0700 (local time) tomorrow.
UPDATE: 07.00 BST 20th April
- Some UK flights are now operating. However a new ash cloud is moving towards UK airspace.
- Various EU press conferences related to the current transport crisis and the EU's response can be listened to here
UPDATE: 09.30 BST 20th April
Based on the latest Met Office information, part of Scottish airspace including Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh airports will continue to be available from 1300-1900 today, and also south to Newcastle Airport. Restrictions will remain in place over the rest of UK airspace below 20,000ft.
UPDATE: 15.00 BST 20th April
Based on the latest Met Office information, part of Scottish and Northern Irish airspace including Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh airports will continue to be available from 1900 today to 0100 tomorrow, Wednesday 21 April, and also south to Newcastle Airport. Glasgow and Teesside airports will additionally become available in this time period. Restrictions will remain in place over the rest of UK airspace below 20,000ft.
UPDATE: 22.50 BST 20th April
New CAA guidance allows a phased reintroduction from 2200 tonight of much of the airspace which is currently closed due to the volcanic ash plume over the UK.
CAA press release:
UK’S INDEPENDENT AVIATION REGULATOR ISSUES GUIDANCE TO OPEN AIRSPACE WITH SAFETY RESTRICTIONS
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK’s independent specialist regulator with oversight of aviation safety, today issues new guidance on the use of airspace. This is issued in conjunction with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and covers the Anglo Irish Functional Airspace Block (FAB).
The new guidance allows a phased reintroduction from 2200 tonight of much of the airspace which is currently closed due to the volcanic ash plume over the UK. There will continue to be some ‘no fly zones’ where concentrations of ash are at levels unsafe for flights to take place, but very much smaller than the present restrictions. Furthermore, the Met Office advise that the ‘no fly zones’ do not currently cover the UK.
“Making sure that air travellers can fly safely is the CAA’s overriding priority.
“The CAA has drawn together many of the world’s top aviation engineers and experts to find a way to tackle this immense challenge, unknown in the UK and Europe in living memory. Current international procedures recommend avoiding volcano ash at all times. In this case owing to the magnitude of the ash cloud, its position over Europe and the static weather conditions most of the EU airspace had to close and aircraft could not be physically routed around the problem area as there was no space to do so. We had to ensure, in a situation without precedent, that decisions made were based on a thorough gathering of data and analysis by experts. This evidence based approach helped to validate a new standard that is now being adopted across Europe.
“The major barrier to resuming flight has been understanding tolerance levels of aircraft to ash. Manufacturers have now agreed increased tolerance levels in low ash density areas.”
Our way forward is based on international data and evidence from previous volcanic ash incidents, new data collected from test flights and additional analysis from manufacturers over the past few days. It is a conservative model allowing a significant buffer on top of the level the experts feel may pose a risk.
In addition, the CAA’s Revised Airspace Guidance requires airlines to:
· conduct their own risk assessment and develop operational procedures to address any remaining risks;
· put in place an intensive maintenance ash damage inspection before and after each flight; and
· report any ash related incidents to a reporting scheme run by the CAA.
The CAA will also continue to monitor the situation with tests both in the air and on the ground.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The CAA’s Revised Airspace Guidance will be based on new engine ash tolerance levels and will apply to low ash density areas identified by the Met Office. This information will be circulated on a six hourly basis. Areas where ash levels are at ³ 10-16, plus a sixty mile buffer zone, will remain no fly zones.
2. The CAA is the UK's specialist aviation regulator. Its activities include: making sure that the aviation industry meets the highest technical and operational safety standards; preventing holidaymakers from being stranded abroad or losing money because of tour operator insolvency; planning and regulating all UK airspace; and regulating airports, air traffic services and airlines and providing advice on aviation policy from an economic standpoint.
UPDATE: 07.30 BST 21st April
Conditions slowly returning to normal. NATS says: "This brings to an end a period of disruption and uncertainty for air passengers. Our operation is fully staffed and already responding to the backlog of flights entering UK airspace. We will be working with the airlines and airports to resume normal operations as soon as possible."
UPDATE: 08.30 BST 22nd April
Some Swedish and Norwegian airports have been closed due to high ash concentrations in local airspace.
Latest statement from CAA Chief Executive
Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority said:
"The volcanic ash cloud over Europe created an unprecedented situation for aviation and in particular the UK with its greater proximity to the eruption. At no other time has such an extensive amount of volcanic ash settled, in stagnant weather conditions, over some of the most congested airspace in the world. The existing international guidance for 'planes encountering volcanic ash is to AVOID AVOID AVOID so allowing for zero interaction between jet engines and ash. This guidance assumed there would continue to be flight paths which would allow avoidance but in this case there was not the space to do so.
"Of course we wanted to get Britain’s skies reopened as quickly as possible but could not do this without establishing what was safe and what wasn't, based on robust scientific data from the current ash cloud. Far from being pushed into decisions by airlines or Europe it was the CAA who led the way. We undertook much of this research and led the international discussions and investigation which brought manufacturers to agree an accurate and evidence based set of restrictions and agree engine tolerance levels to ash density. We achieved what often takes years in 96 hours. When you are dealing with people's lives it is not enough to say, this guidance looks a bit restrictive, lets just make up a less restrictive one, you have to agree new safety guidelines that are evidence based.
"The CAA, which is the UK’s independent safety regulator based its decision to re-open airspace on robust scientific evidence and data; within five hours of receiving agreement from manufacturers UK airspace was re-opened. Our work has now been adopted as the standard across Europe and we're confident this should provide the British public with the assurance it deserves."
UPDATE: 10.30 BST 22nd April
Companies with business continuity plans are likely to have managed the ash cloud crisis better than those that haven't: Aon
Stephen Cross, CEO of Aon Global Risk Consulting, comments on the business and insurance implications of the European volcanic ash cloud.
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UPDATE: 8.30 BST 23rd April
The volcanic dust cloud: some business continuity lessons
Some general observations and a look at the specific response of one airline, Qantas. By Keith Sherringham.
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Further information on the current situation:
NATS
BAA
UK Civil Aviation Authority
EUROCONTROL
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
By Professor Bill McGuire, Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre.
The 1600m high Eyjafjöll volcano (also known as Eyjafjallajökull) is located in southern Iceland, immediately west of Katla volcano. Eyjafjöll is an elongated, ice-covered volcano topped by a 2.5 km wide summit caldera. The volcano appears to have been relatively inactive over the last 10,000 years, and the sole historical eruption, prior to this year, occurred in 1821.
The current eruption started on 20 March 2010. Following a pause in activity, a new vent opened on 13 April generating a column of ash several kilometres high and causing melting of overlying glacier ice. This resulted in the formation of glacial outburst floods that closed roads and caused some structural damage. 700 people were evacuated from the area as a precaution.
The threat
Volcanic ash is silica-based material and highly abrasive. It is capable of causing major damage to aircraft through clogging engines and causing them to flame out, and by scouring windscreens so as to make them opaque. Over the past few decades there have been more than 80 encounters between civil aircraft and ash clouds, resulting in a number of situations wherein crashes have only narrowly been avoided. Most notable was an encounter in 1982 between a BA 747 and an ash cloud from Galunggung volcano in Indonesia. Ash in the engines resulted in all four failing, causing the plane to fall 7,000 m before the engines could be restarted. Even then, landing was made extremely difficult by the fact that the windscreen had been scoured opaque by the ash.
Frequency
It is not particularly unusual for ash from Icelandic eruptions to reach the UK. The most notable occasion occurred in 1783, when a cloud of ash and sulphurous gases from the major Laki eruption lay across Europe from the summer of that year and into 1784. The cloud resulted in elevated summer temperatures and resulted in poor air quality that caused a significant increase in mortality in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. Such a large eruption occurring today would have the potential to severely affect air travel at high northern latitudes for six months or more. In relation to the current eruption, it is worth noting that the last eruption of Eyjafjöll lasted more than 12 months. If this eruption has a similar duration then ash could periodically present a problem in UK air space.
•Date: 15th April 2010 • Region: UK •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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UPDATED 4th MAY 2010
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