Volcanic Ash Cost Europe's Tourism EUR 1 B

At its peak, the crisis affected 1.2 million air passengers a day and 29 percent of all global aviation, according to the International Air Transport Association. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Europe's tourism sector has suffered losses worth EUR 1 B due to travel disruptions caused by the high-altitude ash billowing from an erupting Icelandic volcano, show preliminary estimates by the European Commission..

"I take note that the initial estimates of the loss to the sector touch the threshold of one billion euros (1.3 billion dollars)," said European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani in a statement.

He was speaking after a videoconference with European tourism ministers and officials.

The statement said it was too early to gauge the effects of the crisis on hotels as well as tour operators.

Tour operators had told the commission they had spent about EUR 388 M to repatriate about 1.6 million clients stranded overseas since April 15.

At its peak, the crisis affected 1.2 million air passengers a day and 29 percent of all global aviation, according to the International Air Transport Association.

It was the worst disruption of air traffic since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001. Following those attacks, the United States closed its air space for three days, forcing Europe to postpone all transatlantic flights.

In addition to clearing a massive backlog of passengers and cargo, airlines now face financial headaches as well as logistical ones.

The International Air Transport Association estimated last week that the Icelandic volcano crisis cost airlines more than USD 1.7 B in lost revenue through Tuesday. Between Saturday and Monday, when disruptions were greatest, IATA said lost revenues reached USD 400 M each day.

The crisis began after the volcano beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier erupted Wednesday and sent a cloud of ash into the atmosphere. By the next day that cloud had reached Europe, where authorities quickly closed the airspace over safety fears.

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