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The volcanic ash has created traffic delays from Denmark to France, above.
CNN Wire Staff
Here are the latest highlights regarding problems for air travel caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland:
1:35 p.m.
• According to the Air Transport Association of America, U.S. carriers have canceled 196 flights so far on Friday between the United States and volcano-affected areas in Europe.
• British Airways is flying a number of flights from North America to Scotland overnight.
• Ryanair has decided to cancel all scheduled flights to and from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, northern France, northern Germany, Poland and the Baltic states into Monday.
• IATA's initial and conservative estimate of the financial impact on airlines is in excess of $200 million per day in lost revenues. The group is an international trade body created more than 60 years ago by a group of airlines.
• The Swedish airspace authority LFV said almost all Swedish airspace will close again. Only the country's two most northern airports, Lulea and Kiruna, will be able to have limited air traffic, and these restrictions will most likely remain in place throughout the weekend, LFV said.
CNN
Weather experts predicted Friday that a volcanic ash causing chaos to air traffic across Europe would affect the region well into the weekend and possibly beyond as the dust cloud continued to spread.
Scientists said it was too soon to predict when the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland would cease spewing ash, raising the prospect of thousands more grounded flights in coming days.
Prevailing westerly winds are expected to fan the massive plume of dust from an erupting volcano in Iceland further east and north, according to predictions from the London Ash Advisory Center.
By 07:00 GMT Saturday (7 p.m. ET) the cloud traveling at up to 9,000 meters (30,000 feet) is forecast to be covering parts of Russia, Poland, Finland and other East European countries while continuing to affect the UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Denmark and Netherlands.
CNN Wire Staff
Volcanic ash from Iceland severely disrupted air traffic across Europe for a second day on Friday, causing the cancellation of some 17,000 flights, according to the intergovernmental body that manages European air travel.
Eurocontrol said it expected around 11,000 flights to take place Friday, in contrast to the normal 28,000. The impact will last at least another 24 hours, Eurocontrol said Friday morning.
The ash has spread to large parts of northern Europe and has forced the closure of some of Europe's busiest airports, causing more disruption to worldwide air travel than 9/11.
Craig Johnson
Special to CNN
As a volcanic ash cloud hung over parts of Europe on Thursday, weather experts said air travel in the region, and increasingly the world, will be affected by how the wind blows.
With no major storm system on the horizon, the weather –specifically the wind - in Europe could play a significant role in how the cloud acts, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said.
The ash cloud, swept in from a volcanic eruption in Iceland, has affected thousands of flights and closed some of Europe's busiest airports.
Keep reading...
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/weather/04/15/volcano.weather/index.html?hpt=T1
Marnie Hunter
CNN
Americans flying to Europe on Thursday are in for some bumps in their itineraries as clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland close airspace in parts of Europe.
The United Kingdom's airspace was closed about noon Thursday (7 a.m. ET) and will be closed until at least 7 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) Friday, air traffic authorities said. Delta Air Lines has suspended service into and out of the UK for the rest of Thursday, spokesman Anthony Black said.
"At this point, it's only the UK (other flights have departed/arrived for the day). We will automatically rebook any cancelled flights. We are waiting to hear additional info from European air traffic controllers before we make any other adjustments," Black said in an e-mail.
CNN
Volcanic ash clouds are a serious hazard to aviation, reducing visibility, damaging flight controls and ultimately causing jet engines to fail.
Encounters between aircraft and volcanic ash can happen because ash clouds are difficult to distinguish from ordinary clouds, both visually and on radar, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Ash clouds can also drift great distances from their source. The recent volcanic eruption in Iceland sent a huge plume of ash moving across the Atlantic, disrupting air traffic across Western Europe.
CNN
All flights entering the United States will be subjected to a new level of security screening, officials will announce Friday.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will unveil the new system, which will use "real-time, threat-based intelligence," a senior administration official said.
The new security measures will supersede those put in place immediately after the attempted terror attack on Christmas Day, the official said.
"These new, enhanced measures are part of a dynamic, threat-based aviation security system covering all passengers traveling by air to the United States," the official said. "To more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats, these measures utilize multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen and are tailored to intelligence about potential threats."
Cathy Ladman
Special to CNN
As many of you already know - because Tweets travel faster than airplanes - Kevin Smith, the portly film director of the movie "Clerks" and the upcoming film "Cop Out," was "politely" asked to disembark from his Southwest flight from Oakland to Burbank because he was too large to fit in the seat.
Okay, let's be frank: He was kicked off the flight. The reason he was given was that his size infringed upon the space of the person sitting next to him and it could cause a safety risk in case of an emergency.
Does it surprise you that an airline that has charged a customer several hundred dollars for the service of transporting him from one place to another would subject said paying customer to the indignity of being told he's too fat to fly? I don't think it does.
AC360°
A blizzard has halted operations at some airports in the Northeast, and thousands of flights have been canceled.
No flights will operate at Reagan Washington National or Dulles International airports on Wednesday, according to the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority.
Travelers are urged to check with their airlines for flight status updates and rebooking policies. Most airlines will waive change fees for travel in and out of areas affected by the weather system.
Go to the FAA site above to track your flight status.
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