By DPA,
Reykjavik/Berlin : Massive disruptions of air travel continued for the second day Friday as European airports and airspace were closed because of ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland.
European air-traffic safety organization Eurocontrol predicted that overall only about 40 percent of European flights would operate normally Friday.
Furthermore, some two-thirds of the scheduled 300 transatlantic flights were likely to be cancelled.
“It’s the first time in the history of European air traffic that we are faced with such a phenomenon,” said the deputy head of Eurocontrol, Brian Flynn.
Airlines and travel operators were losing huge sums over the grounded flights, which also caused strains for thousands of stranded business and leisure travellers.
The volcanic ash poses a threat to safety because it can get sucked into jet engines and cause them to cut out.
The World Health Organization in Geneva said that the ash could also have potential health impacts if it settles.
In Iceland where authorities have experience of the problems caused by volcano eruptions, said the ash, which consists of fine and course particles, can cause respiratory problems and eye irritation.
People in affected areas were advised to use a mask when outside and also to wear protective goggles.
In Iceland, experts tracking the erupting volcano said there were no signs of reduced activity on Friday.
“We have no predictions how long it will last,” geophysicist Bergthora Thorbjnardottir at the Iceland Met Office said.
The volcano, located about 120 kilometres east of the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, near the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, erupted earlier this week.
Airlines and travellers can pin their hopes on changing winds but main hubs including London’s Heathrow airport, the main airports of Paris, Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Frankfurt in Germany were closed.
The winds have brought drifting ash across large swathes of northern and central Europe.
Limited access was reported for some flights between Northern Ireland and some Scottish airports, as well as trans-Atlantic flights from and to Glasgow, Prestwick and Belfast.
In Poland, only one airport was open but Sunday’s state funeral of President Lech Kaczynski was likely to go ahead as planned even if not all heads of state and other dignitaries can attend.
Most of the airspace over Scandinavia and neighbouring Baltic states was closed with the exception for small sections in northern Sweden and northern Norway.
Norwegian authorities warned the population to take care as no air ambulances or rescue helicopters could fly. In the sparsely populated northern part of the country air transport is widely used in moving the sick and injured.
In France, authorities closed down the Paris airports of Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) Thursday.
At Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, authorities set up 1,500 camp beds for stranded passengers.
Flights from Australia and Asia were also impacted. Carriers Qantas Airways and Singapore Airlines cancelled flights to and from Europe on Friday.
Flights between India and destinations in northern Europe, the US and Canada were also cancelled or delayed.