Aer Lingus said it has lost between €15 and €20 million as a result of the volcanic eruption in Iceland, and estimated that the disruption is costing it up to €5 million a day.
The airline has cancelled about 1,100 flights since April 15th when flights were grounded and Irish UK and northern European airspace was closed.
However, the airline said it has "substantial cash reserves" and can withstand further closures.
"While it is difficult to calculate the exact financial impact of these flight cancellations, the Group estimates that the total cash costs for the five days are between €15 million to €20 million, with a current daily run rate of between €4 million and €5 million, as a result of lost revenue and the costs of passenger disruption," the company said in a statement this morning.
"Going forward the daily costs will depend on the pattern of cancellations."
Eurocontrol said it expected up to 9,000 flights to have operated in Europe yesterday, a third of normal volume.
"The scale of the economic impact (on aviation) is now greater than 9/11, when US airspace was closed for three days," International Air Transport Association (IATA) head Giovanni Bisignani said.
"We must move away from this blanket closure and find ways to flexibly open air space, step by step."
Industry losses worldwide for passenger airlines and cargo companies could reach as much as $3 billion (€2.2 billion) from the cloud, Helane Becker, an analyst with Jesup & Lamont Securities, told Reuters Insider yesterday. For US airlines, she estimated the impact at $400 million (€298 million) to $600 million (€447 million).
Additional reporting: Reuters
