Ash Detector For UK

A network of ash detectors will be installed across the UK to prevent help prevent volcanic ash cloud and improve forecast capability.

16:26 13 July 2015

A network of ash detectors will be installed across the UK to prevent the incident that took place in 2010 when ash cloud from Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallojokull shut down European airspace costing airlines more than £1bn. 

 

"We've got three bands of ash - low, medium and high, which is defined by the amount of ash in the air - that defines where airlines can fly," said Jonathan Nicholson of the Civil Aviation Authority.

 

"If the airline has arranged with us that they can fly in the low and medium bands, then they're free to make their own choices. So we should see much less disruption with the same amount of ash as we saw during the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud.

 

The government-funded network, which will be composed of instruments called Light Detection and Ranging Systems, will be designed to determine whether an ash cloud is low, medium, or high. The instruments are equipped with laser to work out how dense a layer of ash cloud is and determine if a specific cloud is safe to fly through. 

 

Aviation Minister Robert Goodwill said: "This new equipment will allow the UK's Met Office to track ash clouds more easily and predict how they might spread more accurately.

 

"That could play a big part in minimising disruption to flights during any future incident."