EasyJet: Industry must address volcanic threat by Cheap Flights Booker UK

One year on from the eruption of Iceland"s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which caused the closure of European airspace for five days, easyJet has called on the aviation industry to support initiatives to deal with the threat of similar events in future.

The airline has invested in the Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector (Avoid) technology, which is now at the prototype stage and ready to test.

Created by Dr Fred Prata of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, the system uses infrared images that will allow pilots to see an ash cloud up to 100km ahead of the aircraft.

An application for certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency is now being prepared.

Highlighting the importance of initiatives such as the Avoid project, Ian Davies, head of engineering at easyJet, said the aviation sector can "say with certainty" that another volcanic eruption will occur at some stage and cause further disruption.

"Our industry is better prepared today that it was last year but we need to go further," he added.

"EasyJet is playing its part by working closely with Dr Fred Prata and his team to progress the development of the Avoid technology and we call for more support from the rest of the industry for this and other new solutions to deal with the volcanic threat."


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