Budget UK airline easyJet plans to test fly a new device that will be capable of detecting ash clouds and minimising future disruption.

The air carrier will be the first in the world to test the airborne volcanic object identifier and detector (AVOID), which works in a similar way to weather radars on planes.

Developed by the Norwegian Institute for Air, the system provides images to enable pilots to see an ash cloud up to 100km ahead of the aircraft and at altitudes between 5,000ft and 50,000ft.

Norwegian Institute for Air research senior scientist Fred Prata said that AVOID enhanced the theory around volcanic ash clouds with live data.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) chief executive Andrew Haines said that the CAA welcomed the fact that airlines were considering innovations such as this and would do all it could to facilitate them.

Airbus will undertake the first test flight for easyJet on an A340 within two months. The carrier plans to install the device on its aircraft based on the results.