Who could have ever have imagined that just as concrete signs were forming that the economic recovery is more than just the stuff of imagination, a big old volcano – about 700,000 years old give-or-take – lurking under kilometres of ice would go and blow its top. The eruption of the Icelandic volcano lying under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier did something no terrorist strike, no economic calamity, no viral outbreak has so far managed in the history of modern aviation – it shut down virtually every major air hub in Europe for six days.

With carriers only starting to recover financially from last year’s economic mayhem, this was a body blow. With tens-of-thousands of passengers stranded and many thousands of tonnes of cargo piled high for days-on-end, carriers must have wondered what in heaven’s name they did to deserve this latest cruel twist of fate.

But as the days wore on with no relenting by European aviation authorities the criticisms began mounting higher than the idle cargo which from Asia to Europe alone amounted to 10,000 tonnes a day of high value, time-sensitive, and perishable goods.

The authorities were too fast to close the airspace, didn’t have adequate scientific evidence, didn’t coordinate properly amongst themselves and just made bad decisions. Instead of blanket closures of national airspace critics argued a more scientific assessment of the actual situation concerning the spread of volcanic ash was clearly needed. Data should have been more widely shared and collaborative decision making involving all interested stakeholders would have helped produce a more accurate risk assessment.

Industry bodies like IATA unleashed scathing criticisms of how European officials handled the situation, particularly what the global airline body called Europe’s “unique methodology” of closing airspace based on theoretical modeling of the ash cloud. “This means that governments have not taken their responsibility to make clear decisions based on facts,” said IATA. “Instead, it has been the air navigation service providers who announced that they would not provide service. And these decisions have been taken without adequately consulting the airlines. This is not an acceptable system particularly when the consequences for safety and the economy are so large.”

While safety was of course the paramount concern for everyone, the scale of closures seen in Europe was wholly unprecedented and seemingly unwarranted. This is not the first time a volcano has erupted and threatened commercial flight – Washington’s Mount St Helens, the Philippines’ Mount Pinatubo and Mount Redoubt in Alaska – have all spewed forth prompting warnings, diversions and special procedures, but never such widespread, full airspace closures. In short the risks were properly analysed and managed without compromising safety.

There were many options available, as IATA has pointed out, many of which were ultimately adopted as the airspace was gradually reopened. These include day flights, restrictions to specific flight corridors, special climb and descent procedures, and more frequent detailed boroscopic engine inspections to detect damage.

This is certainly not the end of the issue as there is analysis to be conducted and procedures to be developed and roles and responsibilities to be clearly defined. IATA is correct in calling for the issue to be addressed in a special meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as the issue is not simply a European one, but a truly global issue and one that will likely reoccur given the volcano’s history ofcontinuing activity.