European flights cancelled due to Iceland glacier´s eruption by Zuzana Zelenakova

Volcanic ash from Iceland´s glacier Eyjafjallajokull caused cancellation of almost two-thirds of European flights. Ash spreading from the volcano, meaning small particles of rock, glass and sand, could cause a serious damage to jet engines and eventually bring down the plane. Volcanic cloud is currently located at altitudes of 7,6 to 9,1 kilometers. "It's been long established that flying through volcanic ash is a very dangerous safety risk," said Richard Taylor, a spokesperson for the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority. He points out the example of British Airways Boeing 747 that experienced failure of all four engines after flying into volcanic cloud over Indonesia in 19! 82. "The engines fortunately restarted, but it's clearly a very dangerous thing to do." "Combustion engines work through sucking in air, and that's what generates the power," he said. There were concerns in Poland, whether the cloud could threaten the arrival of the world leaders to the state funeral of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria scheduled to take place in Krakow on Sunday. According to the air traffic agency Eurocontrol, almost two-thirds of European flights were cancelled Friday with airspace largely closed in most parts of north and central Europe. The International Air Transport Association added that the industry has suffered the loss of at least $200 million per day. Glacier Eyjafjallajokull is located in the southern part of Iceland and covers an area of about 100 square kilometers. Eruption from 14 April was the second in 2010. The first occurred on 20 March, but the following one that caused the air traffic disruption was about twenty times more po! werful. "We don't have many volcanoes in Europe," commented Da! vid Lear mount of Flight International, an aviation publication, on what aviation experts called one of the worst disruptions Europe has ever experienced. "The wind was blowing in the wrong direction."

related story (sgx17028): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_iceland_volcano_flight_disrupt...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for Cantell TV (http://cantell.tv)

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