As EasyJet continues testing its ash detection kit over a Sicilian volcano, some experts have raised questions over its effectiveness and wider adoption in the airline sector.
The European low cost carrier has spent the best part of the last 18 months discussing and testing its so-called AVOID (Airborne Volcanic Identifier and Detector) technology, a system fitted to aircraft to find minute ash particles at altitude.
EasyJet's motivation came after the chaos caused to flight schedules when an Icelandic volcano spewed dangerous ash across large swathes of Europe in April 2010.
Here is a clip on the BBC this week about the technology currently being tested over Sicily:
But despite the ongoing tests and pleas to the European Union for support, some are wondering whether the technology can ever have the desired impact on the industry.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK says the AVOID technology will only be useful "as long as it is rolled out widely", a potential problem given that no other airline has supported the testing programme or said it will adopt the system at a later date.
Director of engineering Dr Colin Brown says the wider ash cloud detection programme needs further data and improvements to techniques currently used to measure and detect volcanic ash.
AVOID is "not a panacea", Brown says, "it does not improve the tolerance of the aircraft to ash. It just tells us where not to go."
"There also need to be further tests to ensure that the technology is accurate and sensitive enough to detect a variety of different ashes, in different weather conditions and at a variety of different densities.
"We need further tests to ensure the technique would be able to detect what are microscopic particles – comparable to detecting a postage stamp in an area the size of a football pitch from 100 kilometres away."
Brown also questions whether the technology can be truly effective operationally.
He says:
"Finally, we mustn’t forget that while this technology might be able to detect ash clouds, pilots always fly aeroplanes in controlled airspace, and hence the opportunity to change course at short notice may be very limited."