EasyJet hopes to defeat volcanic ash clouds with new technology

Dec 8, 2011, 15:22 GMT

London - British low-cost airline easyJet is currently testing a volcanic ash-detection system which it hopes to introduce from next year following successful trials, the carrier said in London on Thursday.

The tests of the system - known as AVOID (airborne volcanic object imaging detector) - are being carried out over the constantly active Mount Etna volcano in Sicily and at the nearby volcano island of Stromboli.

The system, which has been developed by the US military, and on which easyJet has cooperated with Nicarnica Aviation, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Institute of Air Research, could be fitted on aircaft by the summer of 2012.

It involves placing infrared technology on to an aircraft to supply images to pilots of ash in their flight path, enabling them to take avoiding action if necessary, a joint statement said.

The system enables pilots to see an ash cloud ahead of the aircraft at altitudes of between 1,500 and 15,000 metres. At 6,000 metres, ash cloud just 100 kilometres away can be detected.

'The testing of the technology is an exciting next step in the journey to get AVOID on to easyJet aircraft which we hope to do by summer 2012,' said Ian Davies, the head of easyJet's engineering department.

EasyJet and European airplane-making company Airbus have agreed to work together on testing the new technology, the statement said.

AVOID would also be put through a certification process with the European Aviation Safety Agency.

EasyJet said that analysis of the two recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland showed that the majority of flight cancellations would have been prevented with AVOID technology.

International airlines suffered huge losses as a result of the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland in the spring of 2010 and a later, smaller, activity in May this year.