If the volcanic ash cloud interrupts trans-Atlantic flights for another two days, BMW will be compelled to stop production at its US factory.
In an interview, spokesman Mathias Schmidt said that its Spartanburg, South Carolina plant, which builds the X5 and X6 sport-utility vehicles, gets its transmissions and other components from Germany factories by air. The April 14 eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano spewed dust across Europe’s airspace, causing about 63,000 flights in airports from Dublin to Moscow to be canceled. The International Air Transport Association said that the canceled flights are costing carriers up to $300 million in lost revenue each day. In its Web site, BMW said that its sole US factory, which started operating in 1994, has a capacity of about 600 vehicles a day. BMW officers also canceled a press trip to visit its factory in Shenyang, China, due to the air-travel restrictions.
