Europe: Closed airports and cancelled flights due to the ashes of the Volcano in Iceland”

All across Europe, airports remain closed due to the enormous cloud of ash that emerged from an erupting volcano in Iceland.

According to the worldwide association of air traffic controllers, “normality will return in a few days.”

And that “The traffic will be reorganized and flights will be rescheduled, but must be done through constant improvisation.”

Since Friday the countries that also closed their airspace were: Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Austria. The restrictions that were lifted in Northern Ireland and Scotland were established again.

Eurocontrol, the European air traffic agency, told to the media that “passengers will have to prepare for major disruptions.”

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, said that “probably it’s the worst airline crisis since the attacks of September 11″.

There were canceled 18 thousand to 28 thousand flights that normally travel from Europe to North America.

The cloud is composed by ashes, glass, sand and rock particles and rises to over 1500 meters, and could affect the plane causing a disaster if the aircraft flies through it.

The airports that were also closed were the ones in Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland, Lithuania, Hungary, Switzerland and Holland.

France has already closed 24 airports in the north and the opening of the Paris’s airports was going to be on Saturday. At the same time it is hoped the opening of an airport in northern Italy.

Most German airports remain closed and the United Kingdom restrictions will remain until 7:00 pm GMT.

This Friday morning, the Air Traffic Control Service of the United Kingdom, through a communique announced that “In general, the situation is dynamic and subject to changes.”

A spokesman for Eurocontrol, the European organization that covers 38 nations, said that “the ashes from the volcano Eyjafjallajoekull in Iceland will continue to move toward the Southeast.”

And that “Volcanic ashes are moving very slowly eastward but without the help from the wind, so that the ash is very traveling slowly” but “In general, you can not say with certainty that the situation is improving.”

European airspace remains closed from the Atlantic to Russia’s border, and from the Arctic Sea to the Alps.

There were canceled their flights to Europe of airlines Qantas, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

David Epstein, a spokesman for Qantas said: “The services will be restored on Sunday.”

Due to the closed airports and the cancelled flights, several world leaders will not attend this Sunday to the funeral of the Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died last Saturday in a plane crash.”

According to international media reports “Many passengers choose alternative means of transport. The Eurostar train service between Britain and France who received a flurry of purchases in a single day is now without tickets until Monday. “

The proximity of the volcanic ashes forced to close, for safety reasons, an air route between Barcelona and Asturias, with no operational consequences, according to Aena. There were Already more than 1,300 flights cancelled in Spain.

Also explained that “the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano erupted on Wednesday for the second time in a month, releasing a cloud of ashes of 11 km into the atmosphere. At the time it has reached the north of Britain, and had also risen to 16 miles. “