Low cost carrier EasyJet wants the European Union to support a system for aircraft which can detect volcanic and dangerous particles of dust in the air.
The airline first talked about the technology in June 2010 following the massive disruption to European airspace when an Icelandic volcano spewed millions of tonnes of ash across the continent, leading to thousands of cancelled flights and tension between airlines and air traffic control authorities.
The technology, known as AVOID (Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector), was developed by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research and works in the same way as existing aircraft weather radars, allowing pilots to see ash particles up to 100km ahead and at altitudes between 5,000 and 50,000 feet.
EasyJet says the systems links to controllers on the ground to build an "accurate image of the volcanic ash cloud using real time data".
"This would open up large areas of airspace that would otherwise be closed during a volcanic eruption, which would benefit passengers by minimising disruption."
After nine months of development, EasyJet is now looking to other airlines and European officials to support further funding for the technology and deployment on aircraft for testing in real-time volcanic ash areas.
After further testing in the coming months, EasyJet is proposing 100 aircraft on the continent are fitted with AVOID (including 20 of its own) to ensure there is a comprehensive coverage of the continent during potential volcanic-triggered crises in the future.
EasyJet's call to action comes exactly 12 months after the ash cloud incident and in the same week as European air traffic organisation Eurocontrol carried out a simulation to test new technology for dealing with such another event.