ERA delegates demand redress for volcano losses
European Regions Airline Association member airlines expressed “outrage” at the failure of national governments in the region to compensate them for costs

European Regions Airline Association member airlines expressed “outrage” at the failure of national governments in the region to compensate them for costs incurred in reimbursing passengers for flight cancellations following the eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull in April. Airlines say the costs arose from events totally beyond their control and have called for the ERA to pursue possible legal remedies, instructing the lobby group to take “any opportunity for instigating a class action to recover damages.”

Almost 9,700 flights, nearly 13 percent of those planned by ERA members, were cancelled after authorities closed large areas of airspace. Central Europe accounted for 43 percent of flights lost and Nordic airspace a further third, but eastern and southern areas escaped relatively lightly.