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Neither plume is projected to reach the European mainland. They are also not expected to affect trans-Atlantic flights, whose eastbound and westbound tracks are located further much south of the projected ash dispersal. "We are not in a position to say as yet as to whether there would be any disruption of European aviation," said Brian Flynn, deputy head of operations. "In any event, we are very confident that if there were to be some disruption it would be at a much smaller scale than that we witnessed last year." Some airline chiefs complained that regulators had overreacted last year. But a study last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded the shutdown had been justified. It said the hard, sharp particles of volcanic ash blasted high into the air could have caused jet engines to fail and sandblasted airplane windows. The Eyjafjallajokull eruption was more problematic because a combination of factors
-- including the ash distribution pattern and unusual weather patterns -- conspired last year to make travel difficult. Meteorologists in Iceland and in Britain have more specialist equipment that enables them to measure the density of ash in the atmosphere
-- the key factor in whether a plane should be grounded. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he did not believe volcanic ash would disrupt air traffic as extensively this time. "We are better prepared and we'll have far better information and intelligence which allows us then to adjust things without necessarily the blanket bans on flights that we saw last year," he said during a visit to Brussels.
Meera Selva in London contributed.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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