Ash costs cash

摘要

When Icelandic volcanic ash visited Europe's skies in April 2010, it cost the continent's economy at least €5 billion ($7 billion) - just by grounding most commercial aviation for a week. With seismic rumblings beneath Iceland's fragile crust gathering strength, how much is Europe set to lose this time? Lest we forget 2010, Europe's then-director of air transport Daniel Calleja Crespo said airline direct losses were €1.7 billion, and 100,000 flights were cancelled with the loss of 10 million passenger journeys. Meanwhile, 313 European airports were totally immobilised, and as a result suffered a €317 million loss of revenue.