Europe air traffic hit by Iceland volcano

A massive ash cloud from a volcanic eruption in Iceland disrupted air travel across Northern Europe and beyond for most part of the week, prompting authorities to shut major airports in the region and cancel or divert flights. Hundreds of thousands of passengers were left stranded across the globe by the biggest flight disruption since the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. Officials said it could take days for the skies to clear out. The ash could affect air traffic for a few months if the eruption continued. Eurocontrol, the agency in Brussels that is responsible for coordinating air traffic management across the region, said that disruptions to air traffic could last an additional 48 hours, depending on weather conditions.

The volcano began erupting on April 14 for the second time in a month from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, hurling a plume of ash 6 to 11 kilometres (4 to 7 miles) into the atmosphere. Hot gases melted the thick ice, sending cascades of water thundering down the steep slopes of the volcano. The ash plume drifted at between 20,000 feet and 36,000 feet (6,000 meters and 11,000 meters), where it could get absorbed into aircraft engines and cause them to shut down. The smoke and ash could also affect aircraft visibility. The massive plume drifted slowly eastwards on April 16, reaching into central Europe and Russia.

About 17,000 flights were expected to be cancelled on April 16 due to the dangers posed by clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland, aviation officials said, with airports in Britain, France, Germany, and across Europe closed until at least Saturday. British airspace will be restricted until at least 1 a.m. on Saturday, according to flight-control authority National Air Traffic Services. The fallout hit shares of European airline companies such as Lufthansa, British Airways, Air Berlin, Air France-KLM, Iberia and Ryanair. The cloud of volcanic ash shutting dozens of airports in the UK and northern Europe may cost the aviation industry US$1bn in lost revenue if it lasts for three days, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said. Six million passengers could be affected if the closures continue for as many as three days, it added.

Carriers halted several hundred flights between the US and Britain. Airlines across Asia also cancelled or delayed flights to most European destinations. Iceland sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge, and has a history of devastating eruptions. Iceland has more than 200 volcanoes and 600-plus hot springs. When Eyjafjöll last erupted in 1821 the event lasted more than a year, according to the Global Volcanism Program at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. The latest eruption is a further blow to a country struggling to rebuild a crippled economy after financial collapse prompted the nation to turn to the IMF