IATA furious at 'theoretical' basis for airspace closures

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Naast de economische structuur in de EU door de bankencrisis, komen nu
ook de tekortkomingen in de luchtvaartstructuur op de voorgrond.

Openstellen van het luchtruim is een 'nationale taak' en het regelen van
het luchtverkeer is gesplitst in nationaal (lager bij de grond) en
regionaal (daar boven).
En daarnaast dan nog de veelal nationale luchtvaartmaatschappijen.
Die veelheid aan organisaties moeten nu op één lijn komen.

Ben benieuwd wie sneller klaar is: de vulkaan of de organisaties ;)

Groet / Cees

IATA furious at 'theoretical' basis for airspace closures
http://www.flightglobal.com/
By David Kaminski-Morrow

IATA is heavily criticising the European response to the airspace crisis
caused by the Icelandic volcano, accusing governments of basing critical
decisions on unreliable or incomplete information.

The organisation is urging Eurocontrol to set up a volcanic activity
contingency centre and is seeking an urgent ICAO meeting to review the
decision-making process and ensure airspace closure is the result of
co-ordinated efforts and detailed data.

In the wake of several airlines' execution of test flights into the
volcanic ash cloud, the airline organisation says that decisions on
operational safety should be founded on "fact, not theory", referring to
the computer-based modelling of the ash-cloud's development.

"Governments have not taken their responsibility to make clear decisions
based on facts," says director general Giovanni Bisignani.

"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."

He claims that the "blanket" closure of airspace means a number of
airlines have unreasonably been denied opportunities to operate safely.

"This is not an acceptable system particularly when the consequences for
safety and the economy are so large," he says. "Risk assessments should
be able to help us re-open certain corridors, if not entire airspaces."

European ministers are holding an emergency teleconference today, but
this has done little to reassure IATA.

"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," says Bisignani.

IATA last week estimated the daily cost of the shutdown, which began on
15 April, at $200 million.

"In the face of such dire economic consequences, it is incredible that
Europe's transport ministers have taken five days to organize a
teleconference," says Bisignani.

"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 utilising operational procedures that
maintain safety."

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