Volcanic activity on opposite sides of the globe has put airlines on alert and threatened to disrupt air travel. However, thanks to advances in detection technology, experts say planes are now safer from the risk of volcanic eruptions than they've ever been.
Among the advances is a device that allows pilots to "see" volcanic ash clouds. It uses infra-red imaging to spot danger 60 miles ahead at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet.
The technology, known as AVOID (Airborne Volcanic Object Imaging Detector), was developed by Norway's Nicarnia Aviation, and is attached to the aircraft much like the now-standard weather radar. AVOID underwent tests with Airbus late last year in which the aircraft maker deployed an unusual manmade ash cloud to see how the device performed. Britain's Easyjet has signed on as the first airline customer, and Nicarnia has teamed with Elbit systems to crank up production.
In addition to helping pilots route planes around the worst of the ash, the AVOID technology will also send real-time data to the ground, where airlines and air traffic control managers could use it to calculate a more accurate picture of an ash cloud's dimensions. That could keep travel disruptions to a minimum as less airspace would need to closed off.
The product is hitting the market at an auspicious time: For weeks now, airlines have been watching the possible rumblings of seismic activity in Iceland, with an eye to avoiding the massive disruptions to air travel that followed the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, another of the island nation's numerous volcanoes. Late last week, though, the industry was taken by surprise when another volcano, this time in Papua New Guinea, spewed a giant ash cloud and forced airlines in the region to reroute flights.
The eruption of Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea was far more explosive that what's happened so far in Iceland, where several smaller eruptions have been recorded from the Bardarbunga volcano in recent days, though none large enough to impact airline schedules. In New Guinea, ash plumes as high as 60,000 feet have been reported—that's higher than the cruising altitudes for commercial airliners. Qantas already has rerouted flights from Sydney bound for Tokyo and Shanghai.
Any significant release of ash into the atmosphere is a serious risk to airlines. Upon contact with a hot jet engine, the ash melts and can form a hard glass coating on other parts of the engine, causing serious damage or even a complete engine failure. The abrasive nature of the ash can also wreak havoc with other parts of the plane, jamming gears, scratching cockpit windows, even contaminating the cabin. Thus, the UN-affiliated International Civil Aviation Organization has set up volcanic ash advisory centers to watch for the presence of this ash in the air.
Volcanic eruptions have been implicated in some serious aviation emergencies. In 1982, a British Airways 747 lost power to all four engines after flying through ash from Mt. Galunggung in Indonesia. The plane dropped to 12,000 feet but avoided disaster when pilots were able to restart some engines and make an emergency landing in Jakarta. A Singapore Air jet lost power in two engines as a result of the same eruption but was also able to land safely. Unsurprisingly, then, airlines reroute flights far from any reported activity.
And advances in ash and volcanic activity detection since the 2010 eruption of Eyjajallajokull have reduced the chance of repeating that travel nightmare, where an estimated 10 million travelers were stuck on the ground. Under the current guidelines, once meteorological offices define where the ash is located, planes can safely fly through low-density areas, which have up to 4 mg of material per cubic meter of air. That's up from the previous maximum of 2 mg. Plus, some airlines have additional certification that allows them to fly though areas with medium density.
Airlines have welcomed the new guidelines, and those guidelines may well get a test run in the coming weeks. Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, recently made news when he blasted the old avoid-at-all-cost mindset that grounded thousands of flights four years ago. Walsh even went so far as to fly a test plane into the ash to make his point.