Volcanic ash cloud disrupts flights across Europe
Air traffic across northern Europe was severely affected on Thursday by ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland that forced airports including London's Heathrow airport - Europe's largest hub - to shut down.
The drifting ash from the volcano near the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, about 120 km east of the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, poses a serious threat to jet engines, and also reduces visibility.
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The duration of the closures was uncertain due to both changeable wind and weather conditions, and the actual seismic activity at the volcano.
Image: Smoke and steam hangs over the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland on April 14, 2010, which has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters.
Text: DPA/IANS
Images: AP
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