The eruption in Iceland snarls air travel across the northern part of the continent. International flights to and from the U.S. are likely to be affected.
For the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, all British airports were ordered shut down Thursday, a move prompted not by terrorism but by drifting ash spewed from an Icelandic volcano.
Air traffic also was halted over Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, stranding tens of thousands of travelers. Shutdowns and cancellations spread to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Britain's National Air Traffic Control Service issued the order at midday and said later that it would last until at least 6 a.m. Friday morning. (10 p.m. Thursday PDT).
The service said that "there will be no flights permitted in U.K.-controlled airspace other than emergency situations," concluding, "It is very unlikely that the situation over England will improve in the foreseeable future."
Read more http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-volcano-flights16-2010apr16,0,6553752.story
Article courtesy of the Los Angeles Times by Janet Stobart
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