Ash from an Icelandic volcano has drifted across the Atlantic Ocean, forcing flights in and out of London's Heathrow Airport to be stopped. Travelers arriving to JFK Airport for British Airways flights found their flights cancelled this morning; the AP reports, "Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said non-emergency flights would be banned until at least 6 p.m. (1700 GMT, 1 p.m. EDT). Irish authorities also closed their air space for eight hours." Flights to and from Scandinavia were also halted—even Norway's prime minister is stranded in NYC!
BBC News explains, "Experts have warned that the tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the ash cloud would be sufficient to jam aircraft engines." A Toronto resident stranded in Glasgow said, "I think I might cry. I just wish I was on a beach in Mexico." The volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland erupted yesterday, for the second time in less than a month, "melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters."
