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Panalpina to re-route supply chains if Icelandic volcano erupts

PANALPINA has put in place a contingency plan should airspace be closed in the event that Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano erupts spewing ash into the sky that could cause costly production downtime.

The company's own controlled air freight network in conjunction with its charter and emergency services department has the flexibility to overcome any emergency issue, it said in a statement.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office temporarily issued on August 29 the aviation code "red" for Bardarbunga, one of 30 volcanoes on Iceland. Code "red" signifies that an eruption is imminent or in progress and that a significant emission of ash into the atmosphere is likely.

In the meantime the volcano has been downgraded to "orange" again, which means that there is still an increased potential of eruption.

"We are fully prepared to prevent any potential disruption of international supply chains, especially on the transatlantic should Bardarbunga erupt," said Panalpina air cargo chief Matthias Frey.

"We have the capability and the experience to deal with a possible closure of European and North American airspace," he said.

Panalpina operates two air freight gateways in Europe and the US, one in Luxembourg, and one in Huntsville, Alabama. They are part of its own controlled network that accounts for up to 15 per cent of its air freight each year. The network uses cargo-only aircraft.

"We can, for example, keep out of harm's way and stay clear of a possible ash cloud in the north of Europe by re-routing flights," said Mr Frey.

In 2010, when the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull struck, Panalpina rerouted all of its flights to and from Luxembourg to Zaragoza, Spain, in a matter of days and for a sustained period of time to keep supply chains going.

The company said it can not only quickly change origin and destination airports on both sides of the Atlantic, it can also charter additional freighter capacity, increase the frequency of flights and organise trucking services or onward flights depending on a specific volcano eruption scenario and customer needs.