Germany's flagship airline Lufthansa is preparing a series of atmospheric tests on Sunday to measure volcanic ash concentration in European airspace.
 
The tests are being conducted with a specially modified Airbus A340-600. The plane will fly with a climate research container and data will be collected through sensors on the plane's hull.
 
The fresh meteorological data could help determine the risk for flights should the ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano return to central Europe.
 
A fresh cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano has already forced the closure of some airspace in Northern Ireland and the UK.
 
German aviation officials have indicate similar closures could be in store for Germany later in the week.
 
Lufthansa conducted a similar flight on April 20 in the middle of a chaotic week for European air travel.
 
The initial cloud of ash from Iceland grounded tens of thousands of flights across the continent over a period of several days leading to the largest airspace shutdown since the Second World War.
 
The closure of airspace was widely criticized by airlines who said that not enough data had been collected to justify an outright closure.
 
The disruption in travel cost the airlines millions in lost revenues each day. With the planes grounded, airports were likewise suffering financially and tourists and passengers remained stranded for days.
 
Italy's civil aviation agency has fined Irish airline Ryanair 3 million euros ($3.8 million) for failing to aid passengers stranded during the travel disruptions.
 
The agency says Ryanair didn't give 178 passengers mandatory assistance such as food, drink and lodgings from April 15-22.
 
source:dw-world.de