Threats to European traffic posed by volcanic eruption are to be handled by a new co-ordination agency which will be charged with organising a rapid response.
The European Aviation Crisis Co-ordination Cell has emerged from discussions between the airline industry and institutions including Eurocontrol, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the European Commission.
It aims to provide a greater degree of flexibility in airspace management to member states, and reduce disruption without affecting safety.
The cell has been created in the wake of the Icelandic volcanic eruption which led to controversial widespread airspace closures in April.
In the event of a future volcanic eruption EASA will issue safety recommendations based on four colour-coded airspace zones defined by Eurocontrol, and derived from Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre charts.
Areas of normal flight operations will be designated as 'white' zones, while 'black' zones will be 'no-fly' areas.
In between these extremities will be a 'red' enhanced-procedures zone of contaminated airspace, where aircraft will still be allowed to fly, and a 'grey' zone in which flight will be permitted under certain conditions.
The Commission says that there will be a "greater level of granularity" in defining the enhanced-procedures zone, giving more flexibility to member states as they decide how their airspace will be managed.
"[Icelandic volcanic disruption] has highlighted the need for co-ordinated action at European level and it is this kind of pro-active development that will allow us to find a sustainable solution for dealing with this crisis," says European transport commissioner Siim Kallas.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
