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Volcanic Eruption Disrupts Airlines and Business Again

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The Grimsvotn volcano, Iceland’s most active, began erupting Saturday, sending large plumes of ash into the atmosphere and halting air traffic in the region. As of this morning, Iceland’s main airport in Reykjavik remained closed while airlines and airports across Europe brace for possible disruptions. This brings back unpleasant memories of last year’s volcanic eruption as Europe clings to hope that the effect will not be nearly as dreadful.

Officials appeared to be responding to the ash with a radically different approach than last year, when European aviation authorities were sharply criticized for closing large swathes of airspace in response to the April 2010 eruption of another Icelandic volcano. Many airlines said authorities overestimated the danger to planes from the abrasive ash, and overreacted by closing airspace for five days. Thousands of flights were grounded, airlines lost millions of dollars and millions of travelers were stranded, many sleeping on airport floors across northern Europe.

Though meteorological officials predicted the ash to miss the European mainland, recent news reports claim that the Civil Aviation Authority expects disruption to UK flights.

We here at the Monitor followed last year’s eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano very closely, posting about it’s amazing power with pics and video, about airports closing and how it was one of the top 10 disasters of the past decade, according to Zurich.

Stay tuned as we continue to post about Grimsvotn’s most powerful eruption in 100 years and its effects on travel and business. And visit The Atlantic for some amazing images of the eruption.

Top Ten Disasters of the Past Decade

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Zurich has unveiled its list of the “Top Ten Megadisasters” of the past decade. The usual suspects pretty much (listed chronologically — not by their “overall business impact,” which is the basis for the list).

1. 9/11 – 2001
2. SARS – 2003
3. 2003 U.S. / Canada power outage – 2003
4. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami – 2004
5. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma – 2005
6. Financial crisis – 2008
7. China earthquake – 2008
8. H1N1 pandemic – 2009
9. Iceland volcano – 2010
10. Floods in Europe and Pakistan – 2010

I have to admit, I would have probably completely forgotten the 2003 blackout if I was playing Family Feud and had to come up with all 10 — and I even wrote a cover story for Risk Management magazine about it.

Obviously, catastrophes that weren’t included like the Haiti earthquake, Cyclone Nargis and Bam earthquake were horrific tragedies, but the insurance penetration in those areas is so minimal that the ghastly human tolls did not have a large affect on the industry.

Let’s all dearly hope that the next decade is tamer.

katrina ninth ward

Ninth Ward. New Orleans. Post-Katrina.

“Bjork” Speaks on Volcanic Ash

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Pretty funny stuff from Saturday Night Live this weekend, as they brought on fake Bjork to represent Iceland and share her thoughts on the eruption/disruption with fake Larry King.

Larry King: “Now, let me get this straight. First, Iceland’s economy collapses, and you ruin all the banks in Europe.

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Now, your volcano erupts, and you ruin all the airports.”
Bjork: “That’s right. We’re a tiny rock that is destroying the world.

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“

Later…

Larry King: “Now, Bjork, has anything positive come out of this.”
Bjork: “Yes. Iceland is now the world’s number-one exporter of volcanic ash. Previously, our main exports were reindeer bones and giggles.

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“

We also get an appearance from Sir Richard Branson and lullaby to the volcano from Bjork. Well played, SNL. Almost as good as the time Bjork joined Charles Barkley on Iconoclasts.

Volcanic Ash Not Dissipating, Airports Still Closing

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The New York Times is providing fantastic coverage of the still-lingering volcanic ash cloud that has been severely disrupting — and in most places completely halting — air traffic in Europe since the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in Iceland on Wednesday.

Here is the Times‘ graphic showing just how widespread the airport closures have been.

Eyjafjallajökull volcano airport

Over on their The Lede blog they also have video of the ongoing Eyjafjallajökull eruption, showing exactly how all that ash got into the atmosphere. Truly amazing. But truly troubling as well — and with no timetable for when flights may be able to resume.

Volcanologists had no reliable prediction of how long the eruption would continue, as travelers scrambled for train reservations, rental cars and hotel rooms. Others simply searched for comfortable benches in airports, which were considerably calmer and emptier than on Friday as passengers realized that no flights would be going in or out.
Europe’s three largest airports — London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Paris-Charles de Gaulle — were all shut on Saturday, with officials hoping that flights could resume sometime Sunday or, more likely, Monday.

Volcanologists had no reliable prediction of how long the eruption would continue, as travelers scrambled for train reservations, rental cars and hotel rooms. Others simply searched for comfortable benches in airports, which were considerably calmer and emptier than on Friday as passengers realized that no flights would be going in or out.

Europe’s three largest airports — London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Paris-Charles de Gaulle — were all shut on Saturday, with officials hoping that flights could resume sometime Sunday or, more likely, Monday.

Yikes.