Hopes it’s last of the ash as volcano dies down

THE Icelandic ash cloud crisis could finally be over after experts claimed the Eyjafjallajokull volcano is no longer active.

After more than a month of aviation devastation across Europe, a leading geophysicist last night confirmed an end to the disruption is finally in sight.

Magnus Gudmundsson of Iceland University announced that activity at the crater had stopped, with “only steam” still coming out of the volcano. “What I can confirm is that the activity of the crater has stopped. No magma is coming up. The eruption, at least for the time being, has stopped,” he said.

The comment, which is based specifically on a significant drop in temperature inside the volcano, has been welcomed by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).

However, a spokesperson for the independent regulator said an end to the crisis cannot be officially confirmed until there are 21 consecutive days of non-activity at the site of the volcano.

He added that there is also the slight possibility that the larger, nearby Katla volcano may become active if Eyjafjallajokull calms.

During the volcano’s highest activity peak in the week after it began erupting on April 14, it released enough ash to cause the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II, affecting more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers.

The situation has been repeated on numerous occasions over the past month, with airlines’ independent safety bodies grounding flights and private airlines insisting the costly decisions were unnecessary.

News of the potential end to the crisis came as it emerged that Irish passengers are to miss out on a chance being offered to British travellers to insure their travel plans against disruption by the volcanic ash cloud.

Aviva has become the first company to offer an optional add-on to its travel insurance that specifically covers losses due to airport shutdowns and cancelled flights.

New customers will be able to buy the extra cover for between £5 and £10 (€5.75-11.50) when they take out a standard travel policy from June 1, while existing customers will be able to purchase an add-on to their current policy.

However, the offer is limited to customers in Britain, despite the fact Irish travellers face identical difficulties and expense if their travel plans are thrown into turmoil.

Passengers can be severely out of pocket if they have to make alternative travel arrangements or are flying with non-EU airlines not covered by the law guaranteeing tickets for rescheduled flights and recompense for accommodation costs – a law Ryanair plans on challenging in the courts.

An Aviva spokesman in Ireland said the reason the new cover was available in Britain and not here was down to the different regulatory formats and different market conditions in the two countries.