Considering the unprecedented nature of this event, the fact that we, most certainly, had to suspend operations in the first two or three days after the ash reached the UK. I think everyone has done well to find a way through the problem and get airborne again in the time we have. The Met Office/VAAC did their job, NATS did what any ATS should have done and the operators stopped flying in the face of a known risk. There will surely be lessons to be learned and we must understand this event in detail.
It will now be interesting to see what happens should we have another ash cloud heading this way.
Despairing Traveller,
It is perhaps true that we have lessons to be learned from this event, which is by no means over in my opinion. In the history of aviation we have continually learned from our mistakes, we investigate our acccidents in detail and have developed procedures to ensure we operate as safely as we can. It is instinctive for us to stop operations when faced with risks we don't fully understand or can't avoid, such was the case in this event. And I believe most would not want it any other way. Economic pressures come second to the safety of passengers and crew- the industry and regulators have now evaluated the risk, found a way to ensure your safety- operations commence.
Last edited by no sig; 21st Apr 2010 at 09:24.