Hugely irresponsible
Well so far we have 2x USAF F16's, a Belgian F18 with engine damage plus a UK Cranfield atmospheric test ac with significant ash found and seemingly another similar result from the Swiss earlier today.
And yet due to pressure from the airline finance depts talk of LHR opening tomorrow with no evidence that it is safe to do so, none whatsoever...
I don't like where this is going one bit. We all know that if we suffer a double engine failure on a 2 engine civil transport the chances of ever seeing your wife and kids again are as good as nil. The BA 777 at LHR lost his engines 60 seconds from a runway perfectly lined up 3 miles out and everyone agrees it was nothing short of a miracle that didn't end up a smoking hole in the ground...
Personally I don't want to breathe this stuff, I don't want to fly through it and I see no evidence that the problem has been resolved, just that the accountants are pressing for resumption of flight.
ONe point everyone seems to be missing is that a 3 hour jaunt for Willie Walsh in no way compares to the 12-14 hours use per day that most civil aircraft are put to. Within a week I will be taking over an aircraft with 70hrs flying in ash with no means of verifying if there is engine damage or not...
Personally I am praying NATS keeps its nerve.
Desk-pilot