The eruption of a volcano in Iceland was not a valid reason to close down air traffic throughout Europe, the Russian Deputy Transport Minister said on Friday.
"The decision to halt air traffic, which was taken by most airports, was not supported by objective factors. There was not any real, virtual, or material danger to carrying out flights," Valery Okulov told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
He also said planes could have flown above the clouds of volcanic ash.
A giant ash cloud from the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano hit air traffic throughout central and northern Europe last week, leaving thousands of travelers stranded. Most European airports resumed operations on Wednesday.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has estimated airlines lost $1.7 billion over the disruption.
The head of The Russian Federal Air Transportation Agency, Alexander Neradko, said on Thursday Russian air companies could receive compensation for the recent air traffic disruption.
"The scale of the losses has to be calculated. At the moment, help is being given to passengers. I do not exclude the possibility that the losses of airlines will also be compensated," he said.
MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti)
