On the 14th April 2010 something big erupted in the travel industry, or as one of our clients called it: an ashtrocity! The Icelandic volcano, called Eyjafjallajökull, ejected volcanic ash to heights in excess of 30,000ft and few could have predicted the chaos and millions of pounds it would cost the travel industry and the economy.
With huge amounts of ash in the atmosphere, controlled airspace in the UK was shut down for fear of damage to the aircraft engines. By the 17th April, there was a no fly zone in the airspace of more than 25 countries. This resulted in the largest air traffic shut-down since World War II and caused millions of passengers to be stranded not only in Europe, but across the world.
Airspace was closed for six days; a decision which was later criticised by most airlines who were suffering huge financial losses.
According to Giovanni Bisignani, the Director General of The Air Transport Association, the ash crisis cost the airline industry up to £130 million a day in lost revenue and more than £500 million to the economy. Bisignnai was very critical of the delay to reopen airspace, citing unnecessary delay.
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