In aviation, the #1 cornerstone is that the
PIC (the "Captain" if you like
) is the final arbiter on the go/no-go decision.
IO540
Yeah, fair point IO, but I guess that would be the view from the GA perspective.
While the PIC in commercial operations will pay with his job and perhaps his license if he makes the wrong call utlimately it is his employer who are responsible for the SOPs and for carrying the can when it all goes horribly wrong - corporate liability and all that sort of thing.
and the trouble is it would be a brave operator who sactions the flight when the Met Office has rung the alarm bells, if if they could get aircraft into the system (which presumably they cant).
In one sense the Met Office / NATS has made it easy for the airlines by closing our airspace. If they had left the decision to the operators it would have been interesting to see what would have happened.
What gives Eurocontrol the authority to refuse to give clearances is another interesting debate, or perhaps it is some other authority that ultimately holds the keys? One suspects it must be each individual sovereign state that makes the decision but who, I am not certain. Presumably if we wished to open our airspace we could and although we couldnt launch aircraft into Europe perhaps we could launch to the Americas, although even then Eurocontol would have to "open up" the UK block.
PS I was just reading the our very own Gordie has now weighed in - you can imagine that when the full financial impact dawns on our not so bright leaders ways will be found to get the airline flying again. The volcano may continue ejecting ash for some time, but I have a feeling our airpsace will not be closed for the same length of time - then again I could be horribly wrong.
