Travel Safety Alert - Europe

New York, Geneva (AirGuide - Travel Safety Update Europe) Apr 18, 2010 European Aviation Shutdown Could Last Two Days. A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano turned the skies of northern Europe into a no-fly zone on Thursday, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers. The European air safety organisation said the disruption, the biggest seen in the region, could last another two days and a leading volcano expert said the ash could present intermittent problems to air traffic for 6 months if the eruption continued. Even if the disruption is short lived, the financial impact on airlines could be significant, a consultant said. The International Air Transport Association had said only days ago airlines were slowly coming out of recession. The volcano began erupting on Wednesday for the second time in a month from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier. It hurled a plume of ash six to 11 kilometres (4 to 7 miles) into the atmosphere, and this spread south east overnight. Volcanic ash contains tiny particles of glass and pulverised rock which can damage engines and airframes and an Icelandic volcanologist said on Thursday the eruption was growing more intense. Apr 16, 2010