The Repercussions of the Icelandic Volcano Ash on UK Businesses

In April 2010, the eruption of Mt.Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland disrupted all flights in the UK and northern Europe. Airspace was closed to air traffic across much of Europe due to the perceived menace of the volcanic ash.

This year, the impending threat of another volcano eruption (Mt.Grimsvotn) looms in the horizon.  As a preventive measure, the airport in Scotland was already closed on 25 May 2011 owing to the risk of volcanic ash damaging aircrafts.

Although there are no immediate threats to the UK airspace, the situation can change anytime. The Met Office is closely monitoring the situation and providing updates on the path of the volcanic ash cloud.

If the volcanic ash is projected to fall on UK airspace, a repetition of the 2010 scenario is likely to happen. Airports will be closed due to safety concerns causing flight disruptions and cancellations. 

Consequently, the volcanic eruption has serious repercussions on UK businesses. The airline and tourism sectors will suffer from the disruption of flights causing considerable financial deprivation to these sectors.

Revenue losses to the airline industry alone with last year's eruption as result of flight cancellations were estimated to $200 million per day. 

The same effects will be felt if the situation arises again. Products that rely on the use of air and cargo transport will be affected, negatively impacting the supply chain.

Business people travelling for conferences, seminars, and meeting to clinch deals will not be able to get to their destinations resulting in profit loss.

In extreme cases, the Met office advisory warning will require people to stay indoors due to health concerns, that is, inhalation of ash particles that will be detrimental to the health. As such, workers and children are forced to stay at their homes leading to productivity and revenue losses.

Such was the situation in winter 2010 when inclement weather turned streets into suicide highways of snow and ice. Personnel could not go anywhere, commuters were stranded and the average person could  not go about doing daily tasks.  Already in that situation, the statistics reflected a dismal number with around 39% of the businesses in the UK affected. Roughly 70% of these entities were small entrepreneurs.

This situation can happen again and the effects will be the same. Clearly, life will be disrupted in the UK as a result of the volcanic eruption resulting to productivity and revenue loss for businesses.

However, as a UK business, there is something you can do. Taking out a Virtual Office service will make it easier for your staff to work from home, without affecting your inbound calls. Why not set up an external telephone answering system, so even if your staff can't make it into work, not a call is missed!

Why not learn more about our Virtual Offices or Business Continuity Services?