I assume folks have seen the news about the volcano in Iceland and how it has affected air travel worldwide due to concerns about the affect volcanic ash has on engines.

Well, we now have news from Europe that show another export from the US in operation, i.e., corporate cluelessness. It seems some of the European airlines are anxious to re-start. From today’s New York Times we have this quote:

“While safety remains a non-negotiable priority, it is not incompatible with our legitimate request to reconsider the present restrictions,” Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, which represents 400 European airports in 46 countries, said in a statement.

It appears to me that the airlines are saying "We believe in safety up until the point that governments stop us from making money because it would not be safe."

What’s the big deal with all of this? Well, this from Boeing might help explain things:

In the past 30 years, more than 90 jet-powered commercial airplanes have encountered clouds of volcanic ash and suffered damage as a result.

So there is a historical record available explaining the affects. Verifiable evidence of the safety problems encountered.

Significant ash encounters from the past include those involving such well-known volcanoes as Mt. Pinatubo, Mt. Redoubt, and Mt. St. Helens. The airplanes that encountered volcanic ash during these events and in the other events listed chronologically experienced varying degrees of damage.

Fairly well known eruptions in that little group.

And Boeing does offer tips to avoid the problem:

Avoidance.
Preventing flight into potential ash environments requires planning in these areas:

- Dispatch needs to provide flight crews with information about volcanic events, such as potentially eruptive volcanoes and known ash sightings, that could affect a particular route (see sidebar page).
- Dispatch also needs to identify alternate routes to help flight crews avoid airspace containing volcanic ash.
- Flight crews should stay upwind of volcanic ash and dust.
- Flight crews should note that airborne weather radar is ineffective for distinguishing ash and small dust particles.

This map from the NY Times show just how widespread the ash clouds are in Europe.

How best to avoid widespread volcanic ash clouds? By not flying. But of course, nothing should stand in the way of the Airlines making their profits, right? Right?

And as anyone who has spent significant time in Hawai’i can tell you, Madame Pele can get very angry and we anger her at our peril. I don’t know the name of the Icelandic equivalent to Madame Pele, but I would assume it works nearly the same.

And because I can (and really, could I have any other video here?):