The recent volcanic ash plume from Iceland, which has moved south and east across Europe, has brought international air travel to a standstill throughout the continent.
By Sunday evening, over nearly seven million passengers have been affected by the grounding of aircraft across Europe, which is estimated to have cost the airline industry more than €200 million per day.
In Ireland, tens of thousands of departing passengers have been hit by the situation, which has also prevented thousands of Irish residents from returning home, leaving them stranded abroad.
Elsewhere in Europe the situation is the same, as people in desperate situations continue to seek emergency help. Last weekend in the UK, a Nigerian bride-to-be asked the public to help her travel to her wedding in Lagos. Her fate hung on the volcanic ash clearing before today, though scientists expect its effects to continue for some time yet.
In the meantime, airlines KLM and British Airways are to be thanked for their decision to test flights in the adverse conditions, which have so far shown no ill effects to aircraft. It’s hoped that this will convince Europe’s aviation authorities to speed up the reopening of airspace and get flights back in the air.
And for the future, we urge the same authorities to acquire modern technologies that would enable them to identify clean and safe routes where flight operations could be directed in any other similar emergency, so long as safety is not compromised.
