Europe Faces Prolonged Air Chaos

The eruption in Iceland on Wednesday sent ash kilometres into the air. Satellite images show the cloud as brownish-black as ice particles mingle with ash. Photo by bbc.com

Flights across much of Europe are being cancelled on a second day of massive disruption caused by drifting ash ejected from a volcano in Iceland.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers are affected and severe disruption could extend into the weekend, including on flights to North America and Asia.

Some 5,000 flights were cancelled on Thursday as airspaces from the Republic of Ireland to Finland were closed.

The ash is not thought to pose a serious health risk to people however.

The European air traffic control organisation, Eurocontrol, said a lack of wind meant the ash cloud created by the volcano underneath Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull glacier was "progressing very slowly eastwards" and remained "very dense"

The airspaces of the UK, Irish Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands closed their airspaces on Thursday.

France shut down 24 airports in the north of the country, including the main hub of Paris-Charles de Gaulle, while Germany's Berlin and Hamburg airports were also closed on Thursday evening.

Qantas, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific were among long-haul airlines who have cancelled flights to Europe.

If the disruption persists, there are fears in Poland that some world leaders will be unable to attend Sunday's state funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in a plane crash last Saturday.

Several European monarchs were unable to attend 70th birthday celebrations for Denmark's Queen Margrethe, which began with a concert on Thursday.

For want of a plane, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt was known to be driving home to Sweden from Brussels, the Associated Press news agency reports.

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