The Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, has welcomed the outcome of the extraordinary meeting of EU Transport Ministers this morning, which met to discuss the recent volcanic ash cloud crisis, which resulted in the cancellation of approximately 100,000 flights across Europe. The Minister was unable to travel to the meeting due to the closure of Irish airspace this morning but was represented at the meeting by Ireland's Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU.
The Council of Ministers reached conclusions on the following key issues:
- The need to develop a new European methodology and approach to safety risk assessment and risk management in relation to airspace management in the event of future reoccurrences of the ash cloud and other potential threats and, in the interim, noted that Member States would continue to rely on advice from Eurocontrol and the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre;
- The need to establish binding limits at EU level on tolerance levels for engines and aircraft to volcanic ash;
- The creation by the Commission of a working group of international experts with the aim of establishing an inventory of the relevant technological and methodological tools, and a research and technology road map to make the most up-to-date and validated tools quickly and regularly available to take the appropriate decisions.
- The importance of accelerating the implementation of the EU Single Sky Initiative aimed at improving the functioning of European airspace;
- The need for a robust and inter-linked European-wide mobility plan to deal with future sudden EU transport crises;
- Current EU air passenger rights legislation is fully applicable in the context of the recent crisis and the European Commission should take account of recent experience in its review of the legislation; and
- The existing rules applicable to potential financial support for the industry.
Speaking after being briefed on the outcome of the Council meeting, the Minister said: "The fact that air travel was impacted again today by the continuing volcanic activity in Iceland emphasises the need for a strong European response and action plan to deal with this situation as it continues to evolve. Safety is at the heart of Europe's response and it was appropriate that a significant part of the discussion this morning focussed on the development of appropriate risk assessment methodologies to deal with potential future threats.
I will remain in close touch with my European colleagues in the lead-up to our next meeting on the 24th of June to ensure that all appropriate measures to provide a sustainable solution to the impact of volcanic ash at EU level are progressed as quickly as possible."
ENDS
Further information:
Department of Transport Press Office: (01) 604 1090 / (01) 604 1091