Translated material
"An Unfair Burden"
Air carriers report record losses
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that the Icelandic volcanic eruption disrupted the global airline industry's revenue by $1.7 billion. That figure includes lost airline revenues for the six days from the first eruption last Thursday through Tuesday of this week. , when air traffic over Europe was practically paralyzed. For three days, April 17-19, air carriers lost $400 million daily, according to IATA.“The scale of the crisis was eclipsed by September 11 (2001 - Ed. ), when US airspace was closed for three days,” IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani said yesterday. He also noted that, at its peak, the current crisis affected 29% of global air travel and disrupted the plans of 1.2 million passengers daily.
Despite the fact that the suspension of flights naturally reduced some of the costs of air carriers (for example, on fuel), in return they received additional costs for servicing passengers “stuck” on the ground. The world's aviation industry has not yet recovered from the heavy losses it suffered in previous years, making the impact of the eruption particularly painful. Cumulative losses for European airlines alone, Mr. Bisignani said, are expected to reach $2.2 billion in 2010.
He called on European governments to find a way to compensate airlines for their loss of revenue. In particular, the IATA director general believes, the strict rules adopted in Europe on compensation to passengers for delayed and canceled flights should be reviewed. “These rules do not help in emergency situations, but they impose the obligation on airlines to pay for hotels, meals and telephone calls (of passengers - Ed. ). These rules were not designed for such emergencies. It is necessary for the European Commission to find a way to alleviate this unfair burden,” said Mr Bisignani.
Aeroflot General Director Vitaly Savelyev said on the Rossiya 24 TV channel yesterday that the airline, at its own expense, accommodated 1.3 thousand passengers in hotels in Moscow and about 2 thousand abroad. He also said that the company returned the cost of 4 thousand previously sold tickets. The exact size of Aeroflot's losses has not yet been calculated, Mr. Savelyev said, but they could amount to millions of dollars.
Yesterday, the main airports in Europe were already operating. The flight ban remained only in certain sectors of the airspace of Great Britain, Ireland and France. Over the previous week, approximately 102 thousand flights were canceled around the world. The need to transport everyone who was planning to fly on those flights to their destinations will disrupt the normal schedule of European airlines for at least another week.
Yesterday, some air carriers already began to express doubts that the authorities did the right thing by closing the skies of the continent after the appearance of Icelandic volcanic ash in the air. "I don't believe it was necessary to impose an absolute ban on all UK airspace last Thursday," British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh said yesterday. “I personally think we could continue to operate safely for a while.”
The head of the Irish airline Ryanair, Michael O'Leary, spoke in the same spirit. "It might have made sense to stop flying for a day or two," he told The Associated Press. - This is understandable. But a much faster response was needed from governments, transport ministries and regulators. No one in their right mind would fly through a column of thick smoke. However, by the time this cloud had dispersed over 800 or 1,000 miles of airspace, a complete ban should never have been imposed.”
The authorities, as expected, claim that they acted in accordance with the prevailing circumstances. Axel Raab, a spokesman for the German aviation authority, said its decision to open German airspace as of yesterday was dictated by meteorological data and not economic considerations. Saying that all major airports in Germany were already operational, Mr Raab added: “We cannot say what will happen in the next few days. If the volcano reactivates, the flight ban could be reintroduced."
European aircraft maker Airbus said it carried out test flights of its newest A380 and A340-600 passenger jets over France and Germany on Monday. The planes spent four and five hours in the air, respectively. “The test pilot crews did not notice anything abnormal, and the post-flight inspection did not reveal any problems,” the concern’s press service noted with satisfaction.