LONDON — An enormous ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano caused the biggest flight disruption since the 2001 terrorist attacks Thursday as it drifted over northern Europe and stranded travelers on six continents. Officials said it could take days for the skies to become safe again in one of aviation’s most congested areas.
The ash cloud, capable of knocking out jet engines, wrecked travel plans for tens of thousands of people, from tourists and business travelers to politicians and royals. They couldn’t see the source of their frustration — except indirectly, when the ash created vivid sunsets.
Non-emergency flights in Britain were canceled, and most will stay grounded until at least midday today. Authorities in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Belgium also closed their airspace. France shut down 24 airports, including the main hub of Charles de Gaulle in Paris; Germany’s Berlin and Hamburg were shut Thursday evening; and several flights out of the U.S. had to double back.
Kyla Evans, spokeswoman for air-traffic service Eurocontrol, said half of all transatlantic flights were expected to be canceled today.
At London’s Heathrow airport, normally one of the world’s busiest with more than 1,200 flights and 180,000 travelers a day, passengers stared forlornly at departure boards on which every flight was listed as canceled.
“We made it all the way to takeoff on the plane. . . . They even showed us the safety video,” said Sarah Davis, 29, a physiotherapist from Portsmouth, England, who was hoping to fly to Los Angeles. “I’m upset. I only get so much vacation.”
A volcano beneath Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier began erupting Wednesday for the second time in less than a month, triggering floods and shooting smoke and steam miles into the air.
About 700 people from rural areas near the volcano were evacuated Thursday because of flash flooding, as water carrying icebergs the size of small houses rushed down the mountain.
The ash cloud became a menace to air travel as it drifted south and east toward northern Europe, 1,200 miles away.
The ash plume was between 20,000 and 36,000 feet, where the grit could get sucked into jet engines and cause them to shut down. The smoke and ash also could affect aircraft visibility.
In Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was working with airlines to try to reroute some flights around the cloud hundreds of miles wide.
Flights from Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and the Middle East to Heathrow and other top European hubs also were put on hold.
Trains to France and Belgium and Channel ferries were packed as travelers sought ways out of Britain.
It was unclear whether the ash cloud would affect the arrival of President Barack Obama and other world leaders at Sunday’s funeral for Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in a plane crash on Saturday.
Meteorologists from the AccuWeather forecasting service in Pennsylvania said the current ash plume will threaten air travel over Europe through Sunday at the very least. Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said the problem might persist for weeks, depending on how much wind carries the ash.
The slowdown could affect everything from package shipments to business meetings and vacations. And delays in the air-cargo business could quickly run into tens of millions of dollars.
“The costs could be extraordinary,” said Jeffrey Price, an aviation professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Many in the travel industry on Thursday weren’t asking whether they would be affected but how badly.
“This is the ultimate act of God,” said Chicago-based transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman.
Air-cargo companies conceded they were scrambling to cope. FedEx started rerouting flights bound for Charles de Gaulle in Paris. It also moved some packages by truck instead of air.
The airlines’ move of late to reduce their schedules so planes fly full could work against them as they scramble to find available seats on alternative flights.
“These high-load factors can make disruptions like this into full-scale disasters — where passengers are stranded for days,” Schwieterman said. “Ten years ago, the airline took just a few days to get back to normal. Now, it can take longer.”
