The UK’s Easyjet has trialed technology that it says will enable an aircraft to fly around the thickest concentrations of volcanic ash.
If proven, the technology may not have long to wait to be fully tested.
Experts are predicting that Katla will be the next volcano to erupt in Iceland and will be on a scale far larger than Eyjafjallajökul, which crippled aviation across Europe when it erupted in April 2010.
In June this year ash from a Chilean volcano severely disrupted flights in Australia and New Zealand.
The technology makes it possible for a pilot to see an ash cloud ahead of the aircraft at altitudes between 5,000 and 50,000 feet.
Easyjet, which tested the system on a microlight aircraft over Mount Etna in Italy, said the trials were successful and it hopes to install the equipment on its fleet next year.
