British low-cost airline easyJet is currently testing a volcanic ash-detection system which it hopes to introduce from next year following successful trials, the carrier said in London on Thursday. The tests of the system - known as AVOID (airborne volcanic object imaging detector) - are being carried out over the constantly active Mount Etna volcano in Sicily and at the nearby volcano island of Stromboli. The system, which has been developed by the US military, and on which easyJet has cooperated with Nicarnica Aviation, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Institute of Air Research, could be fitted on aircaft by the summer of 2012. It involves placing infrared technology on to an aircraft to supply images to pilots of ash in their flight path, enabling them to take avoiding action if necessary, a joint statement said. The system enables pilots to see an ash cloud ahead of the aircraft at altitudes of between 1,500 and 15,000 metres. At 6,000 metres, ash cloud just 100 kilometres away can be detected.
