More EU-Ashcloud fun

I live and learn. When I wrote this post I assumed that the EU already controlled air traffic, albeit indirectly via Eurocontrol (which is not an EU institution).

Whether they do or don't, they've now got a brilliant excuse to go on the safe side and do it directly, as the BBC explains:

Flights over Europe were banned for six days last month because of fears of the effect of volcanic ash on plane engines. The decision to lift the restrictions followed safety tests that showed the engines could cope in areas of low density ash.

The fresh disruption comes as European Union transport ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss ways to improve air traffic management in the wake of last month's events. Last week a spokeswoman for EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said that had there been more co-ordination at EU level, air traffic could have resumed up to three days earlier.

Nice work! First, get Eurocontrol to ban flights for far longer than was absolutely necessary, and then announce to the world in general that had the EU been in charge, the ban would have been lifted much sooner, ergo, the EU should be in charge. Never let a crisis go to waste.

Simples.