easyJet successfully test ash cloud detection system
08.12.11
New technology that could prevent air travel disruption caused by ash clouds in the future has been successfully trialled by budget airline easyJet. Called AVOID (Airborne Volcanic Object Imaging Detector), they hope that it will allow planes to fly through ash clouds by using infra-red cameras to detect and avoid the densest, and therefore most dangerous, areas.
easyJet tested the system on a microlight aircraft over Mount Etna. The airline said the trials were successful and it hopes to install the equipment on its fleet next year. Doctor Fred Prata, who invented the new technology, said it could have kept flights running during last year's Icelandic ash cloud, which stranded an estimated 10 million passengers across the continent.
The new technology could be needed sooner than next year. Experts are predicting that an new Icelandic volcano, Katia, will be the next volcano to erupt. They also believe that it will be on a scale far larger than Eyjafjallajökul.
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