Alert given to airports and airlines, instructions given to train crew, why?

MoCA & DGCA Advisory to Airlines: The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have alerted all the airlines and issued a warning regarding some airports. Also, all airlines have been asked to train their crew on certain things. This exercise is being done in view of the circumstances arising after the volcanic eruption in the Muscat area of ​​the Middle East.

Actually, volcanic ash has now reached Muscat Flight Information Region and its surrounding areas. Due to this ash, there can be serious problems like engine failure of planes, breaking of glass and smoke in the cabin. Therefore, the Government of India has issued an alert to all Indian airlines and aviation companies. France’s Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) have also issued a warning in this regard.

Apart from this, ASHTAM (Special Notam of Volcanic Ash) has also been extracted. In this warning it is clearly stated that the ash cloud has spread to a height of several thousand feet and is moving forward with the wind.

In view of this, the Ministry has instructed all the airlines to-

1. Wherever information has been given about the presence of ash clouds, planes should not fly there at all. Besides, instructions have also been given to completely avoid certain heights and routes.
2. The ministry has instructed airlines to make changes in flight planning. Also, it has been asked to fly only on safe routes with extra fuel.
3. If the pilot feels that the plane has passed through ash or hears any strange noise in the engine or smells smoke in the cabin, then immediately inform air traffic control.
4. Dispatch and meteorological department teams should monitor the ash cloud 24 hours. Keep watching every new advisory and satellite images with utmost seriousness.
5. All the planes that have passed near the affected area till now, after landing, do a complete inspection of the engine and body. Following this instruction, Air India has grounded some of its planes and canceled 12 flights.
6. The Ministry has said in its instructions that if any airport gets covered with ash, the flights there should be stopped immediately. Operations should be started again only after the runway is cleared.

Crew received special instructions to train
Airlines have been asked to re-train their pilots, cabin crew and ground staff and remind them of all the rules related to volcanic ash. Every company has activated its safety team so that there is no risk. So far, ash has not reached any major airport in India, but the routes of many Gulf countries like Muscat, Dubai, Doha may be affected, passengers going from or towards these areas are likely to have their flights delayed or cancelled.

Ash is very dangerous for plane engines
Aviation experts say that volcanic ash is very dangerous for aircraft. It melts inside the engine and forms a glass-like layer, which can cause the engine to shut down. In 2010, thousands of flights in Europe were canceled due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland. At present all the airlines are keeping a close watch on the situation.