• Home /
• BCM News and Events /
• BCM news /
• Iceland and UK reach volcano agreement

Iceland and UK reach volcano agreement

13 December 2010

A new agreement between the UK and Iceland could help reduce the risk of disruption to companies' operations.

Firms concerned with business continuity management may be interested in the news that the two countries have signed a pact regarding the sharing of information relating to volcanic eruptions.

Under the plans, unveiled by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, resources on the subject will also be exchanged, with researchers from both nations collaborating on projects in the wake of the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull earlier this year.

The volcano erupted in April, pumping out clouds of ash and ice into the atmosphere which led to flights across Europe being grounded and widespread disruption to passengers.

Natural Environment Research Council Chief Executive, Professor Alan Thorpe, commented on the memorandum of understanding: "Collaboration is vital if we are to ensure an efficient, coordinated response to such emergencies in the future so this formal understanding between our two countries can only be beneficial."

Eyjafjallajokull is situated in the south of Iceland and the eruption saw plumes of ash thousands of feet high drift into airspace over a number of countries during April and May 2010.