MEMO/11/235
Brussels, 12 April 2011
Volcanic ash disruption: one year on and crisis
preparedness
One year after the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in April 2010, a wide range of
follow up measures have been taken – as agreed by ministers at the
Transport Council of May 4 2010 on the basis of proposals by the
Commission – at international, EU and national level to improve crisis
preparedness in aviation, particularly in relation to volcanic ash. The results
so far are listed below, but the work is ongoing. The European Commission,
Eurocontrol and the European Aviation Safety Agency will participate in the
ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) simulation exercise on April
13 and 14 to test the effectiveness of the changes to the ICAO volcanic ash
contingency plan for Europe and procedures. The Commission, based on the
results of the simulation as well as its assessment of progress to date, will
report back Transport Ministers in June.
European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said:
"The intensive efforts over the last twelve months have paid off in terms of improving
crisis planning and systems. But the work goes on. Volcanoes and other aviation
crises are by their nature unpredictable and each one will be different. We can never
get to zero risk but we can make maximum efforts to prepare strong systems to cope
with disasters. There have been major improvements in international volcanic ash
guidelines, very significant progress to fast track the Single European Sky and
intensive work to produce transparent information for airlines on thresholds for ash.
The volcanic ash simulation exercise this month will provide more feedback on the
work that needs to be done. On this basis and on the basis of a detailed analysis of
progress made, the Commission will report back to Transport Ministers in June and if
necessary recommend further action to be taken."
The major developments since April 2011:
Revised ash contingency plan for Europe (ICAO)
Following the ash crisis, co-ordinated European action was urgently needed to revise
the existing international procedures in case of volcanic activity (ICAO guidelines for
Europe). The existing ICAO guidelines had proved unsuitable during the crisis, as
they were based a very strict precautionary principle.
In December 2010, ICAO finalised the revision of its 'volcanic ash contingency plan'
for Europe, including standardised guidelines for the alerting of aircraft when
eruptions occur, and procedures to be followed, also in cases of possible closure of
airspace.
This guidance material, reflecting the approach brokered by the European
Commission during the weekend of 17 and 18 April 2010 based on the experience of
Eyjafjallajökull, now distinguishes between three degrees of ash contamination
intended to be used operationally in Europe should there be further eruptions.
A volcanic eruption exercise will take place on 13/14 April 2011 under the auspices
of ICAO to test and verify the effectiveness of the new contingency plan.
In parallel, ICAO has established its International Volcanic Ash Task Force in June
2010 to review all elements linked to volcanic eruption guidance material, including
development of a global safety risk management framework, and to make possible
the routine determination of safe levels of operation in airspace contaminated by ash.
It is developing guidance material for flight operations management and the
procedures of state aviation authorities. Results are expected to be presented in
June 2011.
Accelerating the integration of European air traffic management
through the Single European Sky (SES) initiative
The crisis exposed the need for a much greater co-ordination of Europe's air traffic
management system. The existing national fragmentation of air traffic control
exacerbated and intensified the effects of the crisis. The acceleration of the SES
initiative implementation was given the highest political priority by the European
Council on 4 May 2010.
Work on the Single European Sky has moved forward very significantly over the last
year. The most important measures delivered in 2010 are as follows:
- Performance targets: In February 2011, Member States adopted, on the basis
of proposals from the Commission, performance targets for the Single European
Sky. These are key targets – set at EU and national level – for air traffic
management, for example in terms of efficiency standards for traffic
management, for levels of flight delays, safety standards and environmental
impact. These standards go to the heart of the SES structure and reaching a
common agreement with Member States was a significant step forwards
towards establishing the Single European Sky.
- Functional airspace blocks: The Single European Sky air traffic management
system will be built on nine different groups of Member States organised into
functional airspace blocks (FABs). It is for Member States to agree and create
the individual functional airspace blocks, but to do that the Commission needed
to adopt a FAB implementing rule and guidance material, setting out the basis
as to how this should be done. These rules were adopted by Member States,
based on the Commission's proposals, in the Single Sky Committee on the 3
December 2010. To date, three FABs have been established on the basis of
intergovernmental agreements: UK /Ireland FAB; Denmark/Sweden FAB; and
FABEC (including France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Switzerland). The deadline for the nine FABs to be implemented is 4 December
2012. Based on the current programming, the schedule for FABs is on track and
objectives will be largely met.
- On common safety standards for the Single European Sky, the European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) must have a greater role. In 2010, there was a
significant acceleration of plans to extend the competences of the European
Aviation Safety Agency to include safety regulation in the field of air traffic
management, thereby further enhancing a harmonised European approach
when it comes to the overall priority of maintaining safety as aviation's first
priority. A formal decision by Member States is expected in April 2011.
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- Designation of a network manager: At the centre of the Single European Sky is
the network manager which will provide a central entity to co-ordinate European
Air Traffic control on a daily basis, as well as taking the lead in coordinating the
response to future crisis situations affecting aviation. In 2010, the work to
designate Eurocontrol as the network manager has been accelerated, with the
adoption of the 'network functions' implementing rule and the designation by
Member States of Eurocontrol to allow for an optimised and coordinated use of
European airspace.
- Establishment of a crisis cell: In 2010, the European Aviation Crisis
Coordination Cell (EACCC) was established. The EACCC, when activated, is
chaired by the Commission and Eurocontrol, and includes participation from the
EU Presidency, air navigation service providers, airspace users, and airports, as
well as other relevant stakeholders as deemed necessary according to the
nature of a crisis. The crisis cell is designed as an additional support structure
for the network manager in a crisis situation.
- The Aviation Platform: After the crisis, the Commission decided to establish an
aviation platform, convened by Vice-President Kallas, with key stakeholders at
European level, to facilitate long-term co-ordination with the air transport sector,
as well as to allow for effective short-term follow up to these crisis measures.
The Aviation Platform has been established as a high-level group from the
aviation sector to provide strategic advice regarding a sustainable future for air
transport and a competitive future for the European aviation industry. Its
members called for the full implementation of SES; for the extension of the SES
principles to areas beyond the borders of the European Union; and for the
definition of an effective governance structure for the future deployment of
SESAR.
- Technology for SES (SESAR deployment). SESAR is the technological arm
of the Single European Sky. Work has intensified on the detail of the SESAR
deployment strategy in 2010, which will allow the Commission to present a
communication to the Council on governance and funding mechanisms for the
SESAR deployment phase in the course of 2011.
Risk assessment and management
The information necessary to allow national and European authorities, as well as
airlines, to make accurate risk assessment about flying in volcanic ash conditions
was not available during the April 2010 crisis.
The very substantial amount of work has been done in particular on two fronts: (i)
ash thresholds; (ii) meteorological modelling
(i) ash thresholds:
The European Aviation Safety Agency has been working on the issue of determining
a threshold for volcanic ash since it was mandated to do so by the Transport Council
conclusions in May 2010. The work to establish a single ash threshold is proving to
be extremely challenging.
It has become increasingly clear that in reality, every volcanic ash crisis may be
different and the nature of the ash will be different. So establishing a "one size fits all"
threshold is not viable in the short term. EASA will keep working on this issue, but it
will certainly not be resolved in the short term. To note, this kind of threshold does
not exist anywhere else in the world – even in areas like America, or Southeast Asia
where there is a longer experience dealing with these issues – so it is not possible to
adapt something from elsewhere in the world.
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However the issue is very important. Now EASA are moving to tackle the problem
with another solution. Not a "one size fits all" threshold, but legally binding measures
which will require engine manufactures to provide detailed information about risk
associated with volcanic ash exposure and tolerance levels of the different engines
they produce.
In Autumn 2011, EASA will publish a proposal for legally binding measures (i.e.
changes to EASA's existing airworthiness codes) to require engine manufactures to
provide to airlines detailed information on the risk associated with different volcanic
ash exposure and tolerance levels. Engine manufactures are not currently obliged to
do this. EASA should formally adopt such measures, following the consultation
period, in early 2012. The EASA proposal for a notice of proposed amendment will
address the need to define and standardise airworthiness data provided by the
engine manufactures that is required as input into operational risk assessment.)
This will be a major step forwards in terms of the basic problem of providing airlines
with the key information they need on risk and ash tolerance to make the necessary
assessments about flying in volcanic ash conditions. In particular it should allow for
much more accurate risk assessment for airlines flying in "grey zones" in any ash
crisis.
(ii) meteorological products:
The other area where efforts have concentrated has been on fine tuning the
meteorological products used in a crisis situation. There is a clear need for greater
accuracy and enhanced modelling. This has involved work on both the information
sources feeding into the models - as well as on the modelling systems themselves.
In terms of increasing the quality of data that feeds into the models, new radar
systems have been established in Iceland. In addition, the London VAAC centre has
acquired new airborne measure capability – with a new plane and instruments to
increase the quality and quantity of input from test flights in ash.
This is of critical importance in allowing the aviation community to receive accurate,
timely and consistent information about the position, amount, composition, altitude,
projected trajectory and drift of volcanic ash. This in turn allows for improvements
and accuracy in operational decision making.
At European level, a new tool has been produced by EUROCONTROL, the
'European Crisis Visualization Interactive Tool for ATFCM' (EVITA). Member States
still decide to open and close their airspace but this tool allows for a much more
effective capacity to visualise this information in real time and will assist the airlines
in their operational decision making and facilitate a greater level of air traffic
management in affected airspace.
Uniform co-ordination of passenger rights after the volcanic crisis
One of the key requests from ministers after the volcanic crisis was for the
Commission to ensure a uniform application of passenger rights legislation after the
volcanic ash crisis. It was important to ensure that passengers across Europe could
access their rights, and that industry could rely on a common interpretation of the law
across Europe.
In the weeks following the volcanic crisis the European Commission co-ordinated the
network of national authorities to agree on common interpretive guidance for national
enforcement bodies (NEB) in dealing with passenger rights claims related to the
volcanic crisis. The Commission also worked extensively with national authorities
and individual airlines to assure a consistent approach across the EU.
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It is estimated that around 10,000 passenger complaints have been received by
national enforcement authorities following the ash crisis. Considering that millions of
passengers were affected by the flight cancellations, this figure is relatively low –
over 100,000 flights were cancelled during the volcanic ash crisis in April 2010, with
over 10 million people affected.
One year on, the Commission's assessment is that the large majority of airlines took
their responsibilities seriously during the ash crisis. Claims for reimbursement for
cancelled flights were dealt with in a reasonable period of time, as were many claims
for re-routing and short-term care. The bulk of claims which have not been settled by
the carriers and thus have had to go to national authorities, are the more problematic
ones because the passengers were stranded (often abroad) for longer periods, and
therefore have very substantial claims. These claims need to be assessed by
national authorities and if necessary, will be settled in court.
The Commission will this month (April 2010) publish two communications assessing
the functioning of Regulation 261/2004 on air passenger rights and Regulation
1107/2006 on people with reduced mobility (the "PRM regulation") and setting out
the next steps forward. The communications take into account lessons, in particular,
learnt from the volcanic ash and snow crisis of 2010 considering the need to
enhance the cooperation amongst competent authorities and to revise some
provisions of the Regulation 261/2004.
European mobility action plans
The protracted closure of European airspace following the volcanic eruption in
Iceland left extremely frustrated travellers stranded in airports.
After the volcanic ash crisis, transport ministers in their meeting of May 4 2010
strongly supported the Commission's proposals to step up work on pan-European
mobility plans. It was clear in both the volcanic crisis and snow crisis in December
2010, that when one mode of transport is severely affected, other modes were not
easily able to step in and fill the gap. At the Transport Council of 2/3 December 2010
the Commission provided a detailed brief to ministers on its initiative to strengthen
the resilience of the European transport system by ensuring the uninterrupted
mobility of passengers and goods in the event of a sudden transport crisis.
The Commission has asked national governments for feedback on the different
aspects of these proposals, in order to be able to move forwards.
Next steps
April 2011: ICAO volcanic ash simulation exercise
The European Commission, EUROCONTROL, and EASA will participate in a major
ICAO crisis exercise to test the effectiveness of changes and improvements to the
ICAO volcanic ash contingency plan and procedures. The exercise will take place on
13 and 14 April and will involve over 70 airlines, 14 air navigation service providers,
10 national regulatory authorities, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre London (VAAC),
as well as the European Commission, EASA and EUROCONTROL.
The exercise will allow a full assessment of the impact of applying updated
procedures in the ICAO Volcanic Ash Contingency Procedures for Europe. As part of
the exercise, the newly-created European Crisis Coordination Cell (EACCC) will be
activated, and a new tool produced by EUROCONTROL, the 'European Crisis
Visualization Interactive Tool for ATFCM' (EVITA) will be tested. The exercise will be
a simulation only and there will be no impact on real flights.
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The exercise will simulate the eruption of the Grimsvötn volcano in Iceland which
results in a volcanic ash cloud spreading south across the North Atlantic and across
European airspace. On the first day of the exercise, states will ask EUROCONTROL
to open, close or restrict their airspace to aircraft on the basis of their currently
applicable national procedures. On the second day of the exercise, a new
harmonised European approach will be tested. This approach is in line with draft
guidance material from ICAO – ‘Management of Flight Operations with Known or
Forecast Volcanic Cloud Contamination’ – which has been developed since April
2010 and allows airlines to decide if they will fly in areas contaminated by ash, on the
basis of a safety risk assessment accepted by the relevant national supervisory
authority.
Following this exercise, in early June there will be a Europe-wide assessment
session to debrief on lessons learnt and to agree follow-up actions.
June 2011: Report by the European Commission to transport ministers on volcanic
ash and crisis preparedness. The Commission will provide to transport ministers, in
June, an assessment of the progress in terms of volcanic ash and crisis
preparedness, and if necessary recommend further actions to be taken.
The Commission will continue to permanently monitor the situation and reserves the
right to take any initiative where necessary.
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