I would certainly agree with 10Ws
So where were all these airlines at the ICAO/industry meeting last month which was looking at volcanic ash issues and trying to come up with safe figures and policies. Oh yeah, that's right, IATA didn't bother to send anyone ...
and even
. Instead they should have been pushing the industry for research, for decisions on safe ash levels from engine and airframe manufacturers, and for pragmatic procedures to handle events (such as those used in Alaska, which were driven and formulated in the main by an airline). Sitting on their hands was of course cheaper and meant they didn't need to do any work or help make any decisions. For a while they've even got away with it.
I still think however the questions are for the regulators - any expectation that commerical companies are going to carry out experimental research which the regulators could simply refuse to accept (which is certainly the case which has occured in my own industry) is naive in the extreme.
The 'no ash' requirement was never going to be defensible. Possibily it was just a political stance taken to try and force the industry to think about it, possibly not. Either way it will be interesting to see NATS and the CAA defend the position they took.