Europe, Iceland Volcano | featured news

The spread of dense ash from the erupting Iceland volcano could force the cancellation of up to 500 commercial flights in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of Scandinavia, the European air traffic agency said Tuesday.

Airports in Ireland and parts of Britain were closed for hours on Tuesday because of a cloud of volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland that shut European airspace last month and could threaten summer holiday travel.

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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Four of Europe's five largest airports remain closed due to volcanic ash threat; U.K. sends warships to rescue stranded Britons.

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

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.

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.

Volcanic ash - Iceland - Airport - Volcano - Volcanoes

Civil aviation authorities say flights won't start departing or arriving in Britain until at least Friday morning because of a huge ash cloud spewed by an Icelandic volcano.