Definition

Volcanic Ash consists of small (up to 2 millimetres in diameter) pieces of pulverized rock and glass that are thrown into the atmosphere during an eruption. It can cause breathing problems and may lead to equipment malfunctions, especially if ingested by aircraft engines.

Description

A strong misconception amongst air navigation service providers (ANSPs) is that volcanic ash does not affect them when there are no volcanoes in or near to their territory. However volcanic ash travels for thousands of miles and the ash cloud itself can be in excess of 2000 miles long. Examples of volcanic ash affecting aircraft include a DC9 on descent into El Paso, Texas in 1989, damaged by volcanic ash from Alaska. Within Europe, volcanic activities in Iceland, Italy, the Canary Islands and the Azores all pose a potential threat depending on weather patterns.