Icelandic volcano threatens European aviation

On May 7, Eyjafjoell volcano in Iceland erupted a new cloud of ash into the sky of Europe, causing officials to worry that many flights will be canceled.

Eyjafjoell volcano in Iceland erupted ash and steam in the early morning of May 2.Photo: AFP .

'New spraying of ash has happened last night. Today the area contaminated with ash may stretch from Iceland to the Iberian Peninsula , ' AFP quoted a notice from the European Air Traffic Control Agency.

Bjoern Oddson, an Icelandic geologist, told AFP that the lava just stopped erupting from the crater, but the new ash was smaller than the previous eruptions. The smaller the ash, the greater the risk for the aircraft.

'Dust is moving southeast of Iceland and may cause problems in European airspace , ' Oddson said.

According to AFP, the European Air Traffic Control Authority said that the western and northwestern European airspace is where aircraft engines may be shut down by volcanic dust.

Scientists predict the dust cloud can reach an altitude of about 10.5 km. At that height dust can affect many aircraft.

Iceland issued a ban on airspace from 23h GMT on May 7 to 12h GMT on May 8. The Danish Faroe Islands also block airspace from 7 May to 0pm today.

Last month many European countries banned the airspace flight after the volcano in Iceland erupted. It was the largest-scale flight ban in Europe since the Second World War. More than 100,000 flights were canceled and 8 million passengers were affected. The world aviation industry lost about 2.5 billion euros because of this incident.