A volcanic eruption has a significant negative impact on aviation industries worldwide. In rare cases involving volcanic eruptions, a substantial percentage of aircraft transportation and aviation operations are closed down. A good example is Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption that took place in April 2010. This eruption had 75% of European airline operations shut down. Other than that, ten million passengers were unable to travel to their various destinations due to the explosion that lasted over seven days. Also, the explosion of Pavlof Volcano in Alaska was reported to have disrupted the flight operations. As a result, over 3000 passengers were unable to travel to their destinations ( Zorn & Walter, 2016). A similar situation was witnessed when Mt Rinjani erupted and caused cancellation of multiple airlines flying to and from Bali. Approximately, there are over 500 active volcanoes. It implies that there are about twelve eruptions per year. These volcanos have a massive negative impact on the aviation industry.
Loss of revenue to a flight company is an expected impact when there is a volcanic eruption. The loss of income stems from various facts. First, there is a risk of repair cost for planes that fall victim to volcanic eruptions. Further, there are accommodation charges when flights are canceled as customers need to get accommodated as they wait for the solution. Also, there are airport closure and flight cancellation that cut the revenue supply to the company. Lastly, the airport closure may stay for days before resumption of the normal daily operations at the airport. The conglomerations of these challenges result to the loss of revenue to both the company and the country mostly in cases where the problem last for sometimes.
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Other than the loss of revenue, flight disruptions due to volcanic eruption cause disruption in different industries within a country. In a situation where there is flight disruption due to the volcanic eruption, industries such as tourism, and other commercial sectors feel the ripple effects. For instance, destruction of airline traveling means that tourists cannot access the county. It further implies that tourists within the country cannot travel to their home countries. Such a situation not only results in loss of profit to the airline company but also will tamper with the economy of the country. Further, a lot of people travel in and outside the country for commercial reasons. With delays or cancellation of air transport due to a volcanic eruption, such activities are thwarted, and businesses are affected. Further, there is the transportation of delicate commodities as well as perishable goods such as flowers; the transportation of such products can be a challenge since some of them cannot stay for long.
Lastly, deadly risks exist when there is a volcanic eruption. In most cases, there are no reports of a plane crash or loss of lives when there is a volcanic eruption. However, this does not mean that such cases are non-existence. The volcanic ashes in the atmosphere have damaging effects on the plane “ (Tamet al., 2016). Volcanic ash is made up of silicates, which melt when they encounter the heat of a modern commercial jet engine. The molten ash then solidifies on the turbine blades, which can block airflow and cause the engine to stall. “According to different aviation reports, “Ash particles can abrade forward-facing surfaces, including windscreens, fuselage surfaces, and compressor fan blades” (Tamet al., 2016). Further, there are critical operational and navigational instruments which can be affected upon exposure to ash contamination in the atmosphere. Lastly, “ash particles sucked into an engine can melt quickly and accumulate as re-solidified deposits in cooler parts, degrading engine performance even to the point of in-flight compressor stall and loss of thrust power” (Tamet al., 2016). These challenges are dangerous as they risk causing a plane crash and loss of human life.
Managing volcanic eruption situation to allow for a safe and sound air traveling as well as a smooth operation at the airport is challenging and costly. As a manager relying on route change and the cancellation of flights seems to be the logical solutions for reducing the impact of such a situation. Route change is critical in ensuring that customers who urgently needed to reach their destinations have done so within the time frame. Organizations such as Easy jet, Airbus and Nicarnica Aviation came up with a lasting solution of avoiding the volcanic ashes in the air. In the year 2013, these companies came up with the Airborne Volcanic Object Imaging Detector (AVOID) which have infused infrared cameras that are used to detect ashes at a distance of 62 miles away from the plane. Such an instrument is critical as it allows the pilot to change route when volcanic ash poses a threat to the flight. As a manager, such tools are paramount in managing difficult cases brought about by the volcanic eruption. Other than that, the strategy of following an entirely a different root that leads to the same destination can be of benefits. Lastly, the management can resort to plan cancellation in case the volcanic eruption has resulted in a non-manageable situation.
A challenging issue during airline disruption as a result of a volcanic eruption is managing customer expectations. Undoubtedly, passengers are direct victims of flight disruption. These are moments which the clients require more information concerning the progress of the flight and operations resumption timeline at the airport. As a result, the management has a tricky task of ensuring that the clients’ expectations are within the capability of the company. As a manager, transparency is critical to managing clients’ expectations. The management needs to be transparent and communicate to the real issue without hiding any information to the passengers. Transparency is critical in allowing the passengers to decide as they wait for the final solution to the flight problem. Also, the management must work towards providing alternative solutions to the clients. Covering more solution to such a problem is critical as it induces a positive hope among the clients, thus, raising their expectation. Further, the management must give clear timelines of the solution. The clients should base their expectations within a timeline that is given by the organization. Lastly, remaining positive and realistic is paramount while managing clients’expectations at such a moment.
The manager, other than managing clients’ expectations and finding a solution to the problem, needs to collaborate with other bodies within and outside the country to ensure that safety is a guaranteed (Tamet al., 2016). For instance, they need to collaborate with aviation engineering bodies to determine any risk in case the flight is allowed despite volcanic ashes in the atmosphere. Further, they need to collaborate with health bodies to assess the health risks to the clients in case the flight is allowed despite the situation.
In summary, volcanic eruption occurrences result to a significant loss and risks to the aviation industry. Despite the massive revenue loss that comes with it, volcanic eruption exposes aircraft to the risk of crash and damages, and further brings about ripples effects in both tourism and commercial industry in case it takes a long time without a solution. Managing customers’expectation, collaborating with other bodies concerned as well as coming up with a smart solution to this issue is the core to its successful management.
References
Tam, E., Miike, R., Labrenz, S., Sutton, A. J., Elias, T., Davis, J., ...&Avol, E. (2016). Volcanic air pollution over the Island of Hawai'i: Emissions, dispersal, and composition. Association with respiratory symptoms and lung function in Hawai'i Island school children. Environment international , 92 , 543-552.
Zorn, E., & Walter, T. R. (2016). Influence of volcanic tephra on photovoltaic (PV)-modules: an experimental study with application to the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Iceland. Journal of Applied Volcanology , 5 (1), 2.
