Re: Let the great experiment begin
It's true but something had to be done, otherwise the situation would have gone on forever. And it wasn't just the UK - exactly the same thing obviously happened the previous day when Eurocontrol's ash map magically changed after pressure from the EU.
It's been quoted several times on here already, but I think it's important to bear in mind the warning that the ICAO themselves made about their own policy back in 2008:
"As remote sensing techniques improve, it is likely that the aggregate areas
where ash is sensed or inferred will increase, possibly leading to over-warning for ash and cost-blowouts for airlines."