The volcanic ash and its impact on European air transport industry. A case study on the detection and impact of the the Eyjafjallaj kull volcanic ash plume over North-Western Europe between 14th and 21st April 2010

Volcanic activity has caused significant hazards to numerous airports worldwide, with local tofar-ranging effects on travelers and commerce. The AERONET network provides data regarding aerosoloptical thickness, and many other inversion products for sites all over the world, and represents anefficient tool in the detection of aerosol intrusions, including volcanic ash. This paper also presents theevolution of air traffic during the eruption of the Eyjafjallaj kull volcano between 14th and 21st April. Over94.866 flights were canceled with more than 10 million passengers forced to remain grounded. Economiceffects of the volcanic crisis were disastrous with more than 1.7 billion dollars in losses, over 200 milliondaily loss caused by the necessity of staying grounded, electricity costs, rerouting of aircrafts and theaccommodation of passengers left on ground.