More flights were disrupted throughout Europe as the plume of ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano continues to make its presence felt in the skies, and according to the latest reports there does not appear to be an end in sight.
Dangerous Ash Plume
The ash plume, which reaches several miles into the air, has been pushed southeast into Britain, Scandinavia, and into the European continent itself, hovering over the skies of western and central Europe and as far east as Ukraine. Twenty-six countries, including France, Britain, Italy, and Germany, have canceled flights, with several countries extending the ban through Saturday night and into Sunday morning.
The ash from this particular volcano is especially dangerous. Because the Eyjafjallajökull volcano is under a glacier, the erupting lava was cooled immediately by ice and cold water. The lava fragmented into glass. Some of those glass particles then get swept up into the ash plume, making it extremely hazardous. There are reports from the Times Colonist that several Finnish F-18 fighter jets were damaged flying through the cloud on Thursday, April 15, 2010 before airspace was closed. As a result, air travel has come to a complete halt and scientists have no idea when it might be safe to resumes flights since the volcano shows no sign of calming down.
Travelers Stranded
Travelers are starting to feel the economic pinch of the crisis. The train systems across Europe have become horrifically overloaded and are getting more backlogged daily. Hotel rooms are scarce, and as more and more people find themselves with no way to get home in the foreseeable future, travelers are running out of money to pay for food and shelter.
Travel Situation Disrupting Governments
The effects of this travel situation have been far-reaching. The President of Norway, who had traveled to the United States for President Barack Obama’s summit on nuclear proliferation, was stuck in New York City until Saturday, April 17, 2010 when he was able to fly into Madrid, Spain; he has been governing his country via iPad for the last few days. Funeral services for the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, who died along with his wife and 69 other people in a plane crash on Sunday, were sparsely attended as many world dignitaries, including representatives from the United States, Spain, and South Korea,were unable to find transportation to Poland.
More Eruptions Possible
Located near the southern tip of Iceland, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano lies between the Eyjafjallajökull Glacier and the Mýrdalsjökull Glacier near the caldera of the Katla volcano.The Eyjafjallajökull last erupted on March 20, 2010 and before that it erupted off and on between 1821-1823. It was considered to be dormant until it began to show signs of renewed life late in 2009. Historically, the Katla has erupted following each eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull, leading experts to believe that the Katla may be close to erupting now.
Beth Anderle - A retired US Army officer, Beth has been writing professionally and personally for many years but has only recently made the transition to ...
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