I reckon (from my old age person's home) that this is one occasion when NATS ought to take a serious back seat. As BD said, NATS are simply service providers. They do not "close airspace" nor do they refuse a clearance within airspace for any reason other than safety. They do apply a zero flow rate when appropriate (no staff available is an example) but unless things have changed since I stopped working for a living, that only applies to aircraft originating within the area governed by the CFMU.
I believe that there is an ICAO guideline that an ATC clearance should not be given if that clearance is for flight within airspace where there is a known risk of volcanic ash. I suspect that this guideline has triggered the present situation where HMG in the shape of the Department for Transport (or whatever it is called these days) has told the CAA that aircraft must remain on the ground and the CAA has told NATS to apply a zero rate.
Hence my first sentence. The people in front of the cameras and being quoted in newspapers should be those who firstly predicted where the ash will be and those who made the decision to stop all traffic. Unfortunately in the middle of an election campaign, there will not be a politician available to comment (good timing Gordon) and normally DTp people don't make public appearances. In the meantime, if it's not too late, NATS should tell people who told it what it had to do and carefully check its insurance policy for loss of income caused by an act of God.
A I
Last edited by A I; 16th Apr 2010 at 18:30.