Airlines lost over $1.7B due to volcano eruption in Iceland

The financial toll on airline industry is enormous due to the closure of air space. “Lost revenues now total more than 1.7 billion U.S. dollars for airlines alone,” According to Giovanni Bisignani IATA’s director general and CEO, talking at a press conference.

He further said “About 29 percent of global aviation was impacted by this crisis, which affected 1.2 million passengers a day. The scale of the crisis eclipsed September 11 when U.S. airspace was closed for three days,”

“In the first three days, 400 million dollars were lost for each day.” He said.
The CEO of the Association requested the Commission to amend the laws so that companies do not have to bear the costs of a situation that can not control.
“This crisis is an act of God, completely out of control of companies. But the legislation on passengers’ rights does not take into account extraordinary circumstances and requires airlines to pay for hotels, meals and telephone calls. We urge the Commission to find a solution, ” he said.

The situation caused airline to shut down their operation not limited to Europe but all around the globe. Today, Airports are slowly opening but industry analyst cautious that situation may not get better until the end of Sunday.