Volcanic Ash

"We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility."
-Rabindranath Tagore quotes (Indian Nobel Laureate)

Tens of thousands of air travelers around the world are stuck today as a mammoth cloud of ash from the Eyjafjallajökull (EYE-ja-fyatla-jo-kittle) volcano in Iceland shut down all air traffic over Britain, Ireland and the Nordic countries on April 15. The U.K. banned all non-emergency flights until at least 7 a.m. Friday; most affected is London's Heathrow International with over 1200 flights and 180,000 travelers daily. While the majority of flights may be back in the air by the beginning of next week, it will be many more days before the airlines have got their schedules back on track. Some planes are stranded thousands of miles from home.

In addition to causing visibility problems, volcanic ash can wreak havoc with a jet's systems, clogging up engines, blocking sensors and more. Unfortunately ash does not show up well on airplane radar systems so difficult to detect and avoid. Popular Mechanics provides an example from history:

On Dec. 15, 1989, KLM flight 867 intercepted an ash cloud that Redoubt [a volcano in Alaska] had exhaled just 90 minutes earlier. Within 60 seconds, a maelstrom of microscopic volcanic glass shards shut down all four of the 747's engines. With 245 passengers on board, the plane plummeted 13,000 ft before the pilots managed to restart engines and steer the crippled craft to an emergency landing in Anchorage [100 miles away].

After this event the Federal Aviation Administration created the Alaska Volcano Observatory system to monitor 162 active volcanoes in the northern Pacific and give warning to pilots.

There is one bit of good news regarding the eruption. According to the British Health Protection Agency, the effect of ash falling on people in Europe is minor. (I suspect the impact is worse in Iceland.) People may experience itchy or irritated eyes, a runny nose, sore throat, or dry cough, or they may notice the smell of sulphur or see a dusty haze. Those with respiratory conditions like bronchitis, emphysema and asthma may notice the effects more than others and should keep adequate medications on hand.

Bottom Line

There are some things man can not control. Who would have thought in this day and age that your European vacation could be stopped short by a volcano in Iceland?

Because of "Acts of God" you always want to travel with enough cash, clothes, medicine, etc. to last an extra day or two in case you are stranded.