Flight operations in vulcanic ash - Development of an airline business continuity plan

Kurzfassung

Active volcanos can seriously impact domestic and international air traffic. Extensive airspace closures in Europe during the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010 resulted in considerable economic losses, millions of affected passengers, and disrupted supply chains. In the aftermath of the crisis the regulatory framework in Europe was changed from an avoidance-driven to a risk-driven approach refraining from precautionary airspace closures to minimize economic losses and disruptions. Operators are allowed to continue flight operations in airspaces forecasted to be contaminated if they have completed an approved volcanic ash safety risk assessment. This approach shifted considerable responsibilities to the airlines in terms of evaluating flight safety risks and business impacts in an uncertain environment simultaneously. Although, safety is of utmost priority in the commercial air transport industry, progress in research suggests new mitigation opportunities for volcanic ash disruptions. Business continuity management and planning provides methodologies to address these challenges. The capstone project seeks to derive recommendations for development of an airlinespecific business continuity plan and an enhanced decision-making framework in face of disruptions due to volcanic ash.