LONDON — Civil aviation authorities in Europe came under heavy pressure Sunday to ease flight restrictions as airlines and government officials sought to limit the economic fallout from a crisis that is disrupting the global trade in goods as varied as precious gems and tropical fruit.
Airlines, which have suffered billions of dollars in uninsured losses, said test flights over Europe indicated that the ash emanating from an Icelandic volcano, which is still erupting, had cleared in some areas and suggested that aviation officials overreacted to the threat posed to jet engines. The European Union’s transportation commissioner, meanwhile, called for an easing of the travel bans, which have grounded an estimated 63,000 flights since Thursday.
Despite such pleas, the decision on when to reopen the skies rests with national aviation authorities, and some — including those in Britain — extended near-absolute flight restrictions at least until late today.
The calls to loosen restrictions came as concerns grew about the crisis’ economic implications. Fears were mounting about the consequences for the fragile economic recovery in Europe should travel bans stretch on for weeks.
The tentacles of the crisis have already stretched into the global supply chain. Auto factories in China that use electronic parts flown in from Germany faced a sudden halt in shipments. A logjam forming in the international diamond trade threatened to delay the shipment of necklaces and wedding rings if flights are not resumed between cutters in India and dealers in Antwerp, Belgium.
In the United States, UPS and FedEx posted notices to customers about delays in shipments to Europe, and FedEx temporarily halted some of its services. About $40 billion in goods and services pass between the United States and European Union countries each month. Much of that, however, is in equipment and industrial products more likely to be sent by sea and not at risk of spoiling.
That was not the case in some other parts of the world. In Kenya, more than 5,000 workers in the lucrative flower and vegetable industries were told not to report for work Sunday. Warehouses are filled with a backlog of stock, and an estimated 3,000 tons of flowers and vegetables valued at $9 million were sitting at Nairobi’s main international airport.
Even if flights to European hubs including London and Amsterdam, home to the world’s largest flower market, were to resume immediately, Kenyan flower-industry officials said there would be a temporary oversupply that could push prices down for the next week.
Nowhere is the impact being felt more than by airlines, which have been forced to strand millions of passengers around the world. On Sunday, the number of flights in Europe fell to a four-day low of 4,000, down from 22,000 regularly scheduled Sunday departures.
