Iceland volcano grounds flights across northern Europe

Thousands of passengers headed to or from northern Europe are stranded this morning as ash clouds from an volcano eruption in Iceland affects aviation there. The BBC says "the huge ash cloud is drifting south, leaving airports closed and a number of passengers potentially stranded in the UK and overseas. Experts say the ash affects visibility and debris can get sucked into airplane engines, which could affect the safety of air travel."

The Associated Press reports "Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said non-emergency flights would be banned until at least 6 p.m. (1700 GMT, 1 p.m. ET). Irish authorities also closed their air space for eight hours."With that, the shutdown of British airspace effectively suspends operations at London Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports. AP says Heathrow, "Europe's business airport, handles upwards of 1,200 flights and 180,000 passengers per day. The closure also affected London's second- and third-largest airports, Gatwick and Stansted. It was not immediately clear when flights would resume."AP adds that "with the major trans-Atlantic hub at Heathrow closed, dozens of flights to the United States were on hold, and cancelations spread across the continent to major hubs at Brussels,Amsterdam, Geneva and Paris, where flights heading north were canceled until midnight." The Independent of London reports "hundreds of flights across the UK were already cancelled and airports in Scotland closed indefinitely."

The New York Times writes "the closures left airplanes on the tarmac as the rolling cloud — made up of minute particles of silicate that can damage airplane engines — headed from Britain and Scandinavia towards France." The Times notes that Britain's National Air Traffic Service says on its website that: "From midday today until at least 6 p.m., there will be no flights permitted in U.K. controlled airspace other than emergency situations. This has been applied in accordance with international civil aviation policy."
The Times adds "news reports said some airline operators from the United States, Japan and the United Arab Emirates had already revised schedules for flights to Britain. The volcanic ash was reported to be drifting in band between 18,000 and 33,000 feet above the earth."
In the northern Scotland city of Aberdeen, roughly all of the 100 flights today have been canceled. "I can see eight passengers. There are more journalists and staff than passengers. It's almost eerie," Aberdeen Airport spokeswoman Sarah Campbell is quoted as saying by the BBC earlier this morning.
Middle East network Al Jazeera reports "flights in northern Sweden were also cancelled because of the risks posed by volcanic ash, which reduces visibility and can damage aircraft engines. Some flights in France and northern Finland have also been disrupted, while Denmark said its entire airspace would close from [noon local time]."