This autocratic shutting down of all airspace is way too much big brother, all started by MR Brown. It should be up to the operator, and ultimately the passenger to decide if the risks are worth taking. All dramatic references to a BA flight, or other unfortunate earlier flights which flew straight into the centre of an unchartered dense volcanic plume, do not apply today, We are all well aware of the risk of doing that, which is why we have extra vigilance on volcanic activity. But over the whole of Europe what is the particle density, its mostly parts per billion. The more spread out it gets the thinner it becomes, therefore less risk is reasonable to surmise. Are the Asians going to be shutting down their airspace when this blows far enough east? Over time this may cause damage and maintenance issues, so just reduce the TBO,- if you see a sign on Blackpool beach saying caution polluted waters, it doesn’t stop you from swimming if you want to- the risk is yours, if you prefer not to then don’t, hundreds of thousands of passengers are stranded around the globe what would they say-This eruption could last weeks, months, even years- how long will airspace be shutdown, with thousands of people sleeping rough at airports, how long before we start seeing flight crew layoffs, so airlines can reduce costs, something will have to give somewhere.