Another ash cloud threat?

Two Icelandic volcanoes are primed to erupt, volcanologists have warned, as the race to protect flights from a looming ash cloud crisis begins.
After the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull threw world air travel into turmoil tests have begun on infra-red camera technology which will allow pilots to steer around clouds and volcanic debris. A tonne of ash from the Icelandic volcano has been flown to Luton airport in preparation for airborne tests of the imaging system as it was warned that two further volcanos could erupt at any time.
When Eyjafjallajökull blew in 2010 it grounded aircraft for six days, left ten million stranded, cause 100,000 flights to be cancelled, and cost the industry £2.2billion. Flights were also disrupted when a second volcano erupted in 2011. Iceland, Europe's youngest country, sits  on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (plate boundary between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates) and has 22 active volcanoes. According to experts, two of these volcanoes are currently primed to erupt.
Katla - which lies beneath a glacier like Eyjafjallajökull - is experiencing seismic activity and is bulging up at the surface while Hekla has grown to the height it was when it last erupted in 2000. They could erupt with a mere few hours warning and it is believed they could create plumes 18 miles high and impact on European airspace for several days if the eruption coincides with north-westerly winds.
The new technology should allow the aircraft to detect silica, the main component of the ash, using infra-red sensors, from 30km - therefore giving the pilot time to change course. The August experiment has been timed to coincide with the alignment of the Seviri and Calypso satellites, which may be able to confirm the accuracy of the technology.