£1m volcano bill
28.04.10
The ash cloud chaos cost Newcastle Airport about £1m. David Laws, the airport's chief executive, told the Journal that problems caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption were the worst he has experienced in three decades at the hub.
Newcastle Airport was shut for six-and-a-half days during the crisis, which saw 780 flights cancelled and affected more than 75,000 passengers. Mr Laws added: 'I believe that by the time all the flights were back up and running, it cost us the thick end of £1m. I have never seen the airport brought to its knees in the way that it was. I was here in 9/11 and that was difficult but we still operated throughout. With this one it was a case of everything brought to a complete standstill.'
'We make sure our customers were catered for and looked after to the best of our abilities. But this was difficult as their contract is with the airlines, rather than with us. I made a decision early on that any passenger who had left their car here would be let out without any extra charge. This meant that at least they didn’t come home to a huge extra expense for airport parking.’
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