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Volcano crisis cost airlines more than Â£2bn

28 April 2010 07:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA-Economics. European states can bail out airlines struggling to bounce back from the no-fly zone earlier this month, Brussels said yesterday, as it warned the shutdown could cost more than Â£2bn, Independent reported.

European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said that the Commission had calculated the cost of the crisis this month, when air traffic controllers across Europe grounded flights for up to six days because of concerns that a cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano could damage jet engines. "We have taken all assessments and valuations of costs from all the different stakeholders and we are working with a number between â‚¬1.5bn and â‚¬2.5bn (Â£1.3bn and Â£2.2bn)," Mr Kallas said.

The estimate covers all sectors of the aviation industry, including airlines, airports, tour operators and ground handlers, hit by the cancellation of around 100,000 flights which left 10 million travellers stranded in Europe. An estimated 200,000 British people were stranded abroad.