The ICAO EUR/NAT Regional Office, Paris, in coordination with the Italian Company for Air Navigation Services, ENAV, organised a Volcanic Ash Awareness Workshop in Catania, Sicily, 23 to 24 June 2009.
Adequate response to volcanic ash events by aviation stakeholders is a complex task which requires close coordination and collaboration between different operational units: Area Control Centres (ACC), Meteorological Watch Offices (MWO), NOTAM Offices (NOF), flight management units, airlines, etc. Due to the fact that major volcanic ash eruptions are rare events, it is necessary to conduct regular exercises and test the contingency procedures.
To facilitate the participation of these stakeholders in the regular volcanic ash exercises conducted in the EUR/NAT region, the VA awareness workshop aimed to raise the awareness with the ICAO International Airways Volcano Watch (IAVW) procedures, in particular, the contingency procedures for volcanic ash avoidance in the EUR region.
The VA awareness workshop, the first of its kind, was attended by over 100 delegates.
The following presentations were delivered (click on hyperlink to access PDF versions:
