Angry Airlines Demand Compensation
Posted on 21. Apr, 2010 by LynThomas in Business & Finance, Travel
Angry officials from airlines around the world are demanding compensation from European authorities for overacting to the threat of the volcanic ash cloud. They triggered the world’s largest closing of airspace since the three day ban in 9.11.2001.It is estimated that with up to 100 thousand flights were cancelled and up to half a million travelers stranded.
The cost to the airline industry is estimated to be in the range of $1.75 billion. This is to say nothing of all the other businesses, such as tourism, fresh produce such as fruit, vegetables and flowers, restaurants, taxis etc., and buses that were also affected through the ban. The flow on effect will be felt for weeks to come.
Steve Lott, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, said “European Union transport ministers and air traffic agency Eurocontrol made decisions based on theoretical models and not on fact. Aviation authorities chose to categorize European airspace as being open or closed, but there should have been “shades of grey” all along,” Lott said during an interview.
Finally the same authorities decided to create three categories of flyable air space, based on danger levels from the ash cloud. They shrank the no-fly zone to areas close to the erupting volcano in Iceland, while deeming large pathways elsewhere safe to fly and a third category deemed flight-worthy under certain restrictions, where pilots were told they must apply visual conditions only to their flight path.
It is now hoped the old model will be urgently reviewed, so as to never again create a total ban.
In an already extremely costly exercise for stranded passengers, it was reported that some were being charged 1000 euros before they could get their hands on a boarding pass, let alone get on the actual flight.
After five days of being grounded, airlines prepared to resume partial flight schedules, allowing some travelers to make their way home at last. It will take weeks to move the backlog, however, a new cloud from the volcano is threatening to prolong delays in Britain. The United Kingdom National Air Traffic Services agency said the situation was growing worse in some areas, although it still expects more airports to reopen.
British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh said compensation will be sought from the European Union and various governments for the virtual shutdown of airspace for nearly seven days.
With 27 separate airspaces involved in the European Union, there is wide-spread criticism over the emergency. “It took five days to organize a conference call with the ministers of transport,” according to IATA director-general Giovanni Bisignani.
Many travelers in the Southern Hemisphere are opting to keep their overseas travel in the local area for the moment. Tropical islands such as unique Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, are proving to be a popular choice.
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[...] Officials from airlines around the world are angrily demanding compensation from European authorities for what they feel was an over reaction to the threat of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud. The EU triggered the world’s biggest closure of airspace since 9.11.2001.It is estimated that up to 100 thousand flights were cancelled and around half a million travelers stranded. The cost to the industry is estimated to be in the range of $1.75 billion. Read how the European Union took five days before even a conference call could be arranged… [...]