The Iceland eruption of the Grímsvötn volcano Saturday was far
larger than than last year's Eyjafjallajökull eruption, but
scientists say it is unlikely to disrupt Europe as much.
Halldora Kristin Unnarsdottir/AP Concerns about major air travel
disruption are mounting after Iceland’s most powerful volcanic
eruption in over 50 years threw a huge cloud of ash 12 miles
into the air over the weekend, a year after ash from the
Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption reached Europe, closing much
of its airspace. Flights to and from Iceland were cancelled
yesterday and Reykjavik airport is expected to remain closed
today, as airlines were warned the ash could reach northern
Scotland by tomorrow and even southern Europe by the end of the
week, prompting concerns of much wider disruption to travellers.
Initially, European airspace was not expected to be affected but
in the last two hours Eurocontrol, Europe’s air safety
organization, issued a statement confirming that “some ash cloud
may reach parts of northern Europe in t