Governments Must Base Decisions On Fact, Not Theory
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sharply
criticized European governments for their lack of leadership in
handling airspace restrictions in light of the Icelandic volcano
eruption and urged a re-think of the decision-making process.
"We are far enough into this crisis to express our
dissatisfaction on how governments have managed it - with no risk
assessment, no consultation, no coordination, and no leadership.
This crisis is costing airlines at least $200 million a day in lost
revenues and the European economy is suffering billions of dollars
in lost business. In the face of such dire economic consequences,
it is incredible that Europe's transport ministers have taken five
days to organize a teleconference," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's
Director General and CEO.
"Governments must place greater urgency and focus on how and
when we can safely re-open Europe's skies. This means decisions
based on risk-management, facts and utilizing operational
procedures that maintain safety," said Bisignani.
IATA criticized Europe's unique methodology of closing airspace
based on theoretical modeling of the ash cloud. "This means that
governments have not taken their responsibility to make clear
decisions based on facts. Instead, it has been the air navigation
service providers who announced that they would not provide
service. And these decisions have been taken without adequately
consulting the airlines. This is not an acceptable system
particularly when the consequences for safety and the economy are
so large," said Bisignani.
"Safety is our top priority. Airlines will not fly if it is not
safe. I have consulted our member airlines that normally operate in
the affected airspace. They report missed opportunities to fly
safely. The European system results in blanket closures of
airspace. I challenge governments to agree on ways to flexibly
re-open airspace. Risk assessments should be able to help us
re-open certain corridors, if not entire airspaces," said
Bisignani.
To assist governments in assessing risk,
airlines have conducted successful test flights in several European
countries. The results have not shown any irregularities or safety
issues. Airlines are also exploring various operational measures to
maintain safe operations. These include day flights, restrictions
to specific flight corridors, special climb and descent procedures,
and more frequent detailed boroscopic engine inspections to detect
damage.
The scale of airspace closures currently seen in Europe is
unprecedented. "We have seen volcanic activity in many parts of the
world but rarely has it resulted in airspace closures-and never at
this scale. When Mount St. Helens erupted in the US in 1980, we did
not see large scale disruptions, because the decisions to open or
close airspace were risk managed with no compromise on safety,"
said Bisignani, who urged Eurocontrol to establish a volcano
contingency center capable of making coordinated decisions.
Bisignani called for an urgent meeting of the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the specialized agency of the
UN, to define government responsibility for the decisions to open
or close airspace in a coordinated and effective way based on real
data and special operating procedures.