Volcanic Ash, Iceland Volcano Eruption | featured news

Britain and the Netherlands shut or planned to close major airports because of volcanic ash from Iceland on Monday, threatening large-scale air traffic disruption in Europe at the start of the working week.

After two successive days of restrictions due to a plume of volcanic ash, airspace was reopened to all flights.

A no fly zone may have to be imposed over Ireland on Tuesday due to volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland, the Irish Aviation Authority said on Monday.

Europe's skies were open for business on Wednesday but, with so many planes having been grounded by the volcanic ash from Iceland, it could take days or even weeks to clear the backlog.

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New eruptions send volcanic ash cloud toward Britain and threaten plans to resume flights.

The aviation industry sharply criticized European governments on Monday for their handling of airport closures, saying there ...

European air traffic could return to about 50 percent of normal levels Monday if weather forecasts confirm that skies over half the continent are emptying of the volcanic ash that has thrown global travel into chaos, the European Union said.

The prospects for a return to normal air travel remained far from clear, however.

A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano spreading out across Europe is causing air travel chaos on a scale unseen since the September 11 attacks and costing airlines hundreds of millions of dollars.