Europe Volcano Ash | featured news

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.

Poland prepared on Sunday to bury President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria, killed in a plane crash last weekend, but a volcanic ash cloud over Europe prevented many world leaders from attending.

As a giant plume of volcanic ash continued across the continent, European authorities said there was no prospect of a return to normal flights until Saturday at the earliest.

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