Airline ceos have called for improved data to stop flight cancellations if another volcano should erupt.
Flights over much of Europe were brought to a halt when Mount Eyjafjallajoekull erupted during April and May spreading clouds of volcanic ash over the continent.
The cancellations, based on data which said it was dangerous for planes to fly through volcanic ash clouds, cost European carriers millions of pounds.
Now ceos at the spring assembly of the Association of European Airlines (AEA) have demanded that data on these eruptions be improved.
Willie Walsh, ceo of BA and current chairman of the AEA, said ceos were "dissatisfied with the procedure applied throughout Europe during the eruptions".
He said they wanted assurances that in any future eruption by any volcano that "Customers will not face chaos again".
He said current procedures were based on countries and air traffic controllers making decisions on flight safety based on information from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in London.
These were "inappropriate and must be replaced so that we will be prepared to deal with future volcanic eruptions without causing unnecessary disruption," he said.
Shutting airspace was not necessary to deal with volcanic eruptions, Walsh said.
He added: "The key prerequisite to enabling safe operation is high quality, accurate data that identifies the presence of the visible ash that is a potential risk to flight safety."
In a statement the AEA said it and other associations wanted procedure based on data sources which were sued in other parts of the world and which had not led to any "known incidents for many years".
It said European carriers would be meeting EC officials "in the near future" to find a solution to the problem.
www.aea.be