Tag Archives: volcanic ash cloud

Another volcanic ash cloud crisis?

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Revised on: 2015-09-10

Rewind your thoughts one year: Iceland. Volcano eruption. Air travel. Then look at today’s news. Are we facing yet another volcanic ash cloud crisis? It would seem so, as airlines have already begun cancelling flights in and out of Northern Europe, including Scotland. The big question is, have we learned last year’s lessons or will this be another scramble to the rescue sort crisis management? So, what did happen last year, and what did travellers do? That is what the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics investigated and wrote up in a report called Air travel disruption after the volcano eruption in Iceland – Consequences for Norwegian travellers and businesses in Norway, published in late 2010.  While the report is written in Norwegian, there is a three-page English summary, from which much of this post content is taken.

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Volcanic ash cloud – really a surprise?

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Revised on: 2015-09-12

Last week a volcanic eruption on Iceland took Europe’s civil aviation authorities by total surprise, prompting them to shut down air traffic over much of Europe for almost an entire week. An unprecedented event? Yes. Was it a surprise? Maybe Yes, maybe No. Should authorities have seen it coming? Yes. Then why wasn’t Europe prepared? On the operational level, among air traffic controllers, the awareness of the widespread impacts of a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland has been there for quite some time. They have indeed planned for it and there have been regular exercises.

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Using social media in a crisis

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Revised on: 2015-09-09

Sometimes the timing of Internet launches is just right. And for Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) the timing of the launch of it’s Facebook page could not have been better planned. It was launched on April 14, the day before the volcanic ash cloud paralyzed both European and much of global air traffic. Now SAS could fully utilize the power of social media to keep its passengers informed on the latest developments, and answer  all sorts of questions from stranded travelers. In all the confusion about lack of information from airlines, maybe SAS will come out as a winner?

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Volcanic Ash Cloud Day 5

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Revised on: 2015-09-12

Today is Day Five of the infamous Iceland volcanic ash cloud disruption. What just a week ago was a highly improbable scenario has settled in to become a daily routine…almost. Was this really one of these damned (Pardon my French) Black Swan Events…or was it a Predictable Surprise we should have been aware of? While it is fair to assume that volcanic eruptions are in the business continuity plans of most airlines, it is probably not so fair to assume that 5 days of sudden air traffic restrictions is in the business continuity plans of most companies reliant on frequent air travel. Perhaps it should have been. For sure it will be – from now on.

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Can we do without air traffic?

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Revised on: 2011-03-22

Travelers and businesses are waking up to a fourth day of no air traffic in Europe, and a fourth day of stranded air passengers seeking whatever means they can find to reach their destination, or reaching any place between where they are stuck and where they were supposed to go. As I said in my post yesterday, perhaps it’s time to re-learn the value of slow travel, and perhaps we don’t need to go anywhere as fast as possible or have our goods delivered in an instant. If this lasts on, it may lead to a change in our way of thinking. Seriously, what would happen if this supply chain disruption because of the volcanic ash cloud were to go on for a week, a month, a year?

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Business continuity 101

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Revised on: 2011-03-22

This is the 3rd day with severe transportation and thus supply chain disruptions all over Europe, due to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, forcing travellers, cargo shippers and logistics providers to seek alternative solutions. In essence this is a very practical lesson in business continuity. Who would have thought that a volcano eruption in country that until recently and before the IceSave dispute did not make any headline news could create such havoc with widespread impacts? I certainly did not. Nonetheless, it is also a lesson in business creativity: German car rental company Sixt shows how.

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Today’s transport disruption: volcanoes

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Revised on: 2015-09-12

I haven’t had a “In the news” post for quite some time, but now Norway and much of Northern Europe are facing a major supply chain disruption: The shutdown of all air traffic because of a volcano eruption on Iceland causing an ash cloud to drift into European airspace. The eruption under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajoekull area of Iceland is the second in Iceland in less than a month, but this is the first time it has affected air traffic beyond its own borders. While air is only one of the four modes of transportation for supply chains, it is probably the mode that has the most expensive implications because it is often used for high-value goods. 

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