Fallout from Iceland volcano could impact upon world’s biggest equipment exhibition.
The Bauma exhibition in Munich is more than just a trade show; the vast event not only gathers together everybody who is anybody in the construction and demolition equipment sector, but it also acts as a highly accurate barometer of industry confidence. A successful show never fails to give the industry a shot in the arm.
But the organisers, exhibitors and delegates that were to cram into the Messe Munchen next week are now looking to the heavens, their plans, hopes and aspirations at the mercy of an ominous cloud of dust and silica contamination blasted into the atmosphere by a volcanic eruption in Iceland.
Here in the UK, the country experienced its first ever peace time no-fly day, with all airports being closed to air traffic. Those closures continue today. The cloud has also grounded aircraft in Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden, all key contributors of both exhibitors and visitors. And, at the time of writing, the volcano remains active and the disruptions look set to continue into the weekend when many visitors would be traveling to Munich.
Of course, travel disruptions will have little or no effect upon the tens of thousands of German natives. But with both rail and ferry services being called into action as a replacement for grounded aircraft, even those traveling to the show from neighbouring countries in mainland Europe are likely to face delays.
