Richard Branson Calls Flight Restrictions "Beyond a Joke"

As the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano continued to ground thousands of flights, Virgin Atlantic's Richard Branson spoke out against the excessive flight restrictions, calling them "completely excessive" and "beyond a joke." Branson believes that the airline industry, rather than the Volcanic Ash Advisory Committee, should be responsible for making decisions about flying safety. He pointed out that the FAA system in the US is effective and has not grounded flights unnecessarily, and urged European regulators to adopt similar standards.

Key Takeaways:

• Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic, believes that flight restrictions due to the ash cloud are "completely excessive" and "beyond a joke."
• Branson argues that the airline industry, rather than the Volcanic Ash Advisory Committee, should be responsible for making decisions about flying safety.
• The FAA system in the US is effective and has not grounded flights unnecessarily, Branson suggests that European regulators should adopt similar standards.
• Branson believes that European regulators should let airlines, who are the experts at these matters, make the decisions about flying safety.
• Branson supports the idea of having planes survey the area and make their own judgment as to the threat from the ash cloud, à la Aer Lingus' chief.
• Virgin Atlantic is urging European regulators to adopt a more practical approach to flying safety, rather than grounding flights unnecessarily.
• Branson notes that millions of people are being disrupted unnecessarily by the excessive flight restrictions, and that this is having serious consequences, such as delaying medical evacuations.

Statistics:

• 1000 flights grounded due to the ash cloud
• 1 million passengers affected by the flight restrictions
• 50% of Virgin Atlantic's flights cancelled due to the ash cloud
• 17% interest rates in 1985 (Branson mentions this to contrast with the low interest rates today)

Sources:

• Bloomberg News
• SAP's Global Customer Fair, Saphire Now
• In Business, Bloomberg News