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Effects of the April 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption


The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland on 14th April 2010 affected the economic, political and cultural activities in Europe and across the world.

There was an extensive air travel disruption caused by the closure of airspace over many countries affecting the travel arrangements of hundreds of thousands of people in Europe and elsewhere. Sporting, entertainment and many other events were cancelled, delayed or disrupted when individuals or teams were unable to travel to their destination.

The state funeral of Lech Kaczyński and Maria Kaczyńska on 18 April 2010 was affected as some national leaders were unable to attend, including Barack Obama, Stephen Harper, Angela Merkel, and Nicolas Sarkozy.

Air travel and transport throughout the world was cancelled due to the airspace restrictions and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated the airline industry worldwide would lose £130 million ($200 million) a day as a result. IATA stated that the total loss for the airline industry was around US$1.7 billion (£1.1 billion, €1.3 billion). The Airport Operators Association (AOA) estimated that airports lost £80 million over the six-and-a-half days. Over 95,000 flights had been cancelled all across Europe during the six-day travel ban, with later figures suggesting 107,000 flights cancelled during an 8-day period, accounting for 48% of total air traffic and roughly 10 million passengers.

Following Air France-KLM's and British Airways' requests to the European Union, and additionally in the latter's case to the British government, for compensation, Gordon Brown announced that the EU Solidarity fund, designed to aid EU member states in the event of large-scale disasters, could be a possible source of compensation. The EU's competition commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, also said the EU was considering easing its rules on governmental subsidies to airlines. Late in April 2010, EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said that governments would reimburse airlines for losses incurred, however the Irish Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said that Ireland would not do so due to the financial crisis.


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