Topic: Vaac

Eurocontrol reportedly conducted volcanic ash disaster exercises in Italy in November 2009 but had not prepared for an Icelandic eruption despite the common transatlantic flight paths over the region. Airlines such as KLM and Lufthansa conducted test flights through the purported ash zones, finding no damage to engines or significant ash accumulation. The total shutdown of European airspace is characterized as a government-led overreaction based on computer models rather than empirical aviation data.