Volcanic ash cloud paralyzes swath of European airspace | Aviation International News

Volcanic ash cloud paralyzes swath of European airspace

Ash from a volcano in Iceland brought disruption to European air transport last month on a scale that far exceeded the combined efforts of global terrorism

Many business aircraft were able to escape Europe before airspace was closed by the volcanic ash cloud on April 15. But some did not, including operators who had to keep their aircraft grounded at the London-area Farnborough Airport. Shown here are jets parked on the ramp and taxiway alongside the hangars and terminal operated by Tag Aviation. Authorities reopened British airspace at 10 p.m. on April 20.

By Charles Alcock • Managing Editor

April 30, 2010

Ash from a volcano in Iceland brought disruption to European air transport last month on a scale that far exceeded the combined efforts of global terrorism and the financial crisis. Huge swaths of the continent’s airspace were closed for prolonged periods and hundreds of thousands of travelers were stranded at various points around the world for days on end.

Business aviation, though generally hailed as the traveler’s flexible friend, also was just about brought to its knees in Europe. Due to the sheer unpredictability and complexity of airspace access rules, bizjets and even pistons were able to make only limited use of opportunities to conduct VFR flights in low-level, uncontrolled airspace (see box on page 36). Helicopters found themselves constrained too, but were able to conduct some flights to assist stranded travelers.

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