Re-Think of Volcano Measures – Governments Must Base Decisions on Fact Not Theory
19 April, 2009 (Paris) — The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sharply criticized European governments for their lack of leadership in handling airspace restrictions in light of the Icelandic volcano eruption and urged a re-think of the decision-making process.
“We are far enough into this crisis to express our dissatisfaction on how governments have managed it—with no risk assessment, no consultation, no coordination, and no leadership. This crisis is costing airlines at least $200 million a day in lost revenues and the European economy is suffering billions of dollars in lost business. In the face of such dire economic consequences, it is incredible that Europe’s transport ministers have taken five days to organize a teleconference,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
“Governments must place greater urgency and focus on how and when we can safely re-open Europe’s skies. This means decisions based on risk-management, facts and utilizing operational procedures that maintain safety,” said Bisignani.
Japan Airlines (JAL) was named the winner of the 2009 “FlightStats On-Time Performance Service (OPS) Award”, conferred by Conducive Technology Corporation – a data provider of reliable flight information to the transportation industry. Based on statistics tabulated by Conducive’s FlightStats, 90.95% of 216,478 JAL-operated scheduled flights in the calendar year 2009 arrived at their destinations on-time. JAL emerged as the most punctual airline among 46 major global carriers evaluated for this award while regionally, JAL Express ranked first in the category of most on-time carrier in Asia, ahead of 21 other contending carriers.
In addition to being firmly committed to providing passengers with the safest standards in flight operations and offering high quality products and services, Japan Airlines regards punctuality as a basic quality of an airline that passengers can trust. The JAL Group established an On-Time Performance Project which sought to involve all Group employees by soliciting ideas to improve on-time performance while maintaining strict safety standards. With the collective efforts of all staff, and with the understanding and cooperation of valued passengers who arrive at their boarding gates promptly, JAL was able to ensure timely departure of its flights and thereby win this recognition.
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