Catania (Italy), 25 June 2009 - Thanks to the kind support from ENAV SPA, the Italian Company for Air Navigation Services, the ICAO European and North Atlantic Office organized a Workshop on Volcanic Ash Awareness that was held in Catania (Italy) from 23 to 24 June 2009. The Workshop was chaired by Raúl Romero, Technical Officer (Meteorology) for the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau.

It has been long recognized that the volcanic ash clouds produced by volcanic eruptions are major hazards for the modern jet aircraft. To mitigate this hazard, ICAO has established the International Airways Volcano Watch (IAVW) system, which is tasked to provide timely warnings and advisories for volcanic ash to aviation users. The IAVW prescribes a set of procedures for volcanic ash avoidance which are further detailed in the European Volcanic Ash Contingency Plan available to the States through the ICAO ERU/NAT Regional Office website (http://www.paris.icao.int/Volc_Ash/index.htm).

Adequate response to volcanic ash events by the aviation stakeholders is a complex task which requires close coordination and collaboration between different operational units: ACCs, meteorological watch offices (MWO), NOTAM Offices, flight management units and airlines. Due to the fact that major volcanic ash eruptions are rare events, it is necessary to conduct regular exercises and test the contingency procedures. The European Air Navigation Planning Group recommended that such exercises should be organized at least twice a year and should cover all areas which could be affected by volcanic ash produced by the active volcanoes in the EUR and NAT Regions (active volcanoes are located in Iceland, Italy and Portugal (Azores).