Airlines say a nuke won’t ground the world anymore

A nuclear explosion may not actually be the end of the world

At least that's the new reality airlines and insurers are preparing for

For decades, aviation policies said a single nuclear detonation meant global grounding

Those rules were written in the 1950s, back when any nuke was assumed to mean World War III

But today's threats look different, and the insurance world is catching up

Gallagher, the world's biggest aviation insurance broker, has developed a new emergency framework based on the simple idea

that not every detonation means the end of the world. If a tactical nuclear strike happens, say on a battlefield in Europe or Asia

Gallagher's plan lets a group of 15 insurers meet within four hours

assess the risk country by country, and decide where flights can still operate

That's a significant shift from the old automatic shutdown rule, known as AVN-52

which terminates liability coverage the moment a nuclear blast is detected. That rule is still baked into most aviation policies today

To fill the gap Gallagher is offering airlines billion in war risk coverage per plane about half of what traditional policies would provide But the cost to passengers Less than a cup of coffee if the coverage is ever triggered The new plan is

open to any airline, not just Gallagher's clients. And it's meant to extend coverage beyond the usual

48-hour pause insurers allow after a major event. So far, around 100 airlines have signed on

including 60 in Europe. Some budget carriers are holding out, but ysts say this kind of

contingency plan is what the industry needs in a more unpredictable world. One reason for the shift

tactical nuclear weapons are smaller, more targeted, and more likely to be used regionally

Russia, China, and North Korea all have them. Russia alone is estimated to have nearly 2,000

non-strategic nuclear warheads. Gallagher's plan does not erase all the risks. There is still what's

called the Five Powers Clause. If war breaks out between any combination of the U.S., U.K.

France, Russia, or China, coverage is void, full stop. But in a world where the unthinkable is no

longer impossible, insurers are working to ensure a single detonation does not bring global aviation

to a standstill. For more unbiased updates, download the Straight Arrow News app or go to san.com