German Chancellor, US Pop Star Stranded by Iceland Volcano

A German Government handout photo shows German Ambassador to Portugal, welcome Chancellor Angela Merkel at the airport in Lisbon after her plane was forced to stop there due to clouds of volcanic ashes thrown out by an Icelandic volcano. Photo by BGNES

The ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland has forced German Chancellor Angela Merkel to touch down in Portugal for an unscheduled overnight stay on her way back from the US, BBC reports Saturday.

The disruption also forced the cancellation of the inaugural Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad to London while US pop star Whitney Houston had to take a car ferry from Britain to Ireland for a concert after her flight was canceled.

The flight ban also means that some world leaders might have difficulty attending the funeral of the Polish President, Lech Kazcynski, on Sunday.

Politicians and pop stars are not the only ones suffering the effect of the flight cancellations as virtually all of Europe's major airports remain closed and millions of air travelers are stranded by thousands of flights being canceled for a third day. The mayhem is caused by a huge volcanic ash cloud drifting south and east across the continent from Iceland. The ash - a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles could be catastrophic to aircraft.

The disruptions began Wednesday when the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano erupted for the second time in a month and will continue for certain at least through the entire weekend while Airlines are losing USD 200 M a day.

All major airports in Europe, including the 3 busiest - Heathrow, Frankfurt and Charles de Gaulle, have been affected by the closures. The travel chaos has been felt as far away as North America and Asia, with the cancellation of dozens of Europe-bound flights.

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