NATS Altitude: Volcanic Ash: Preparing for the unexpected

It’s now 11 years since a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland grounded flights across the UK and much of northwest Europe.

For six days in April 2010, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (or E-15) left millions of passengers stranded around the world. Fears over the effect of flying through clouds of ash rich in particles of glass left the industry, regulators and policy makers all struggling to grabble with what was then an event on an unprecedented scale.

But what really happened behind closed doors 11 years ago and what has changed since? What lessons did the industry learn from 2010 and what will happen during the next, inevitable eruption?

Join us for a special episode of Altitude where we’ll hear from the controllers and pilots who worked through the crisis, learn about the changes the industry has pioneered since, and get a preview of the huge pan-industry exercise due this autumn.