Minister calls industry leaders to discuss volcano fallout’s impact on German economy

German Econ Min calls volcano conference

BERLIN — Germany’s economy minister warned Monday that the ongoing closure of European airspace is seriously impairing economic activity and called a meeting of industrial leaders.

Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle warned in a statement that the lack of air travel risks causing damage to sectors beyond the airline and travel industries. He invited industry representatives to the ministry later in the day to brainstorm on how to avoid further damage.

The ash cloud is “impairing economic activity on a significant scale,” Bruederle said.

“If chains of economic value are disrupted for a long time in a globalized world, we would have a serious situation, because many of our industrial sectors depend on transport by air,” Bruederle said. He noted that the chemical and auto industries, for example, need deliveries from abroad.

Bruederle said the president of umbrella organization of German Industry, Hans-Peter Keitel, had informed the ministry that many economic branches have been disrupted. Exports are a traditional motor of Germany’s economy.

German airspace has been largely closed to flights since late last week, as has much of Europe, due to the ash cloud caused by a volcano in Iceland.

Volker Treier, the chief economist at the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, estimated on n-tv television that the airspace closure is costing euro1 billion ($1.3 billion) per day.