100 companies wish to remain in operation should an attack break out
As the spectre of nuclear war looms large, airline companies are hard at work to ensure they can continue operating should detonations occur.
Conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, and India and Pakistan (over the Kashmir region) could soon reach a devastating crescendo for civilians across those nations, yet there’s a special scheme designed by the world’s largest insurance broker Gallagher in the works that’ll prevent airlines from grounding their jets in unaffected zones.
Via The Telegraph, Gallagher has come up with a plan that would see various insurers evaluating where airlines should be permitted to fly after nuclear strikes – aided by expert security analysis from Osprey Flight Solutions.
This plan would provide £750 million ($1 billion) of war cover per plane for each carrier.
Gallagher’s senior partner Nigel Weyman said the Russian invasion of Ukraine resurrected interest in nuclear-related policies.
“Back when the wording was drawn up [in the 1950s], it was assumed that any hostile detonation meant that it would all be over, Armageddon. But what they didn’t have in those days was tactical nuclear weapons that vary in size and impact and which are, ultimately, very usable,” he commented.
“Why should Air New Zealand, for example, be grounded in the event of a nuclear detonation in Europe that was quite minor, albeit not for the people near it?
“Airlines find workarounds for whatever challenges they face, safe corridors, minimum heights so that ground-to-air missiles can’t reach them. Volcanic ash clouds affect big areas, but the world keeps flying. Yet a few words on an insurance policy can ground every jet there is,” he continued.
Out of approximately 500 companies around the globe, a fifth of them have signed up to the scheme, with Weyman claiming low-cost companies are reluctant.
There are other insurance roadblocks to contend with though, including the ‘five powers war clause’ which eliminates any existing cover if the UK, US, France, Russia or China open fire on each other.
