- Title: VARIOUS: European airlines count cost of volcanic disruption
- Date: 20th April 2010
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (APRIL 19, 2010) (REUTERS) PLANE ON TARMAC EXTERIOR OF AIR FRANCE HEADQUARTERS DIRECTOR GENERAL OF AIR FRANCE/KLM, PIERRE-HENRI GOURGEON ARRIVES AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF AIR FRANCE/KLM, PIERRE-HENRI GOURGEON, SAYING: "There were dozens of flights in Germany, there were at least ten flights done by KLM and on all these flights finally at the arrival there was no anomaly. So little by little we are gaining experience which tells us that finally the air space above these routes is perfectly usable, there are no traces of ash and no real risk encountered by the planes." JOURNALIST MAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF AIR FRANCE/KLM, PIERRE-HENRI GOURGEON, SAYING: "European air transport, which is practically stopped today, is losing 150 million euro every day, and we are on the fifth day. Air France/KLM represent roughly one quarter of this, so roughly 35 million every day. The whole of the regular global air industry represents 500,000 jobs which are on the verge of technical unemployment, and if we take the indirect jobs, it is three times as much, so considerable figures." VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (APRIL 19, 2010) (REUTERS) PAUL CHARLES, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER LEWIS COMMUNICATIONS, WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL CHARLES, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER LEWIS COMMUNICATIONS, SAYING; "We've estimated that the five-day crisis so far has cost the European travel industry alone over one billion pounds. And that figure is spiralling every hour." CHARLES LISTENING TO QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL CHARLES, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER LEWIS COMMUNICATIONS, SAYING; "I think there are some smaller airlines, particularly in Europe which are pretty vulnerable at the moment. You must bear in mind they've come through a really torrid couple of years - they've suffered high oil prices, up to 140 dollars a barrel, they've suffered from a very, very tough recession, and from intense competition, which means their margins have been lower as prices have fallen. Surviving all that, and then finally having the ash cloud crisis on top is going to be very difficult for smaller airlines that don't have any cash in the bank." CHARLES TALKING TO REPORTER
- Embargoed: 5th May 2010 09:16
- Keywords:
- Topics: Travel / Tourism,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA3R8AES3WUT9IXA4ZQDA5D7C3A
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: The disruption to air traffic caused by a volcanic ash cloud is costing Air France-KLM 35 million euros a day, the carrier's director general said on Monday (April 19), as he called for the crisis to be managed differently.
Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Director General of the Franco-Dutch airline group, described the financial impact of five days of disruption at a news conference in Paris.
"European air transport, which is practically stopped today, is losing 150 million euro every day, and we are on the fifth day. Air France-KLM represent roughly one quarter of this, so roughly 35 million every day. The whole of the regular global air industry represents 500,000 jobs which are on the verge of technical unemployment, and if we take the indirect jobs, it is three times as much, so considerable figures," said Gourgeon.
Most of Europe's airspace has been closed since Thursday after a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano spread out, stranding millions of business passengers and holidaymakers and paralysing freight and business worldwide.
Gourgeon said that the management of the risk from the crisis could not continue as such, saying the meteorological charts didn't define the actual risk to aircraft.
Air France-KLM was among companies running tests on the impact of the volcanic ash on aircraft, and so far, Gourgeon said, the results have been negative.
"There were dozens of flights in Germany, there were at least ten flights done by KLM and on all these flights finally at the arrival there was no anomaly. So little by little we are gaining experience which tells us that finally the air space above these routes is perfectly usable, there are no traces of ash and no real risk encountered by the planes."
EU transport officials are considering opening air corridors but not the entire European airspace, France's environment minister said on Monday.
Jean-Louis Borloo told a news briefing before a conference call of EU transport ministers to resolve the volcano crisis that France would try to allow as many take-offs and landings as as possible on Monday.
For airlines, however, the costs could continue to soar for days to come.
"We've estimated that the five-day crisis so far has cost the European travel industry alone over one billion pounds. And that figure is spiralling every hour," said Paul Charles, of Lewis Communications.
He added that the financial impact of the air traffic shutdown could prove particularly dangerous to smaller operators.
"I think there are some smaller airlines, particularly in Europe which are pretty vulnerable at the moment. You must bear in mind they've come through a really torrid couple of years - they've suffered high oil prices, up to 140 dollars a barrel, they've suffered from a very, very tough recession, and from intense competition, which means their margins have been lower as prices have fallen. Surviving all that, and then finally having the ash cloud crisis on top is going to be very difficult for smaller airlines that don't have any cash in the bank," Charles told Reuters.
The International Air Transport Association on Monday estimated the economic impact of the volcano crisis on airlines to be greater than the 2001 September 11 attacks.
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