EUROPE - Ash clouds from a volcanic eruption in Iceland have brought airports in northern Europe to a standstill.
Airspace was closed and flights cancelled in several countries, including the UK, Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland after the cloud drifted south and east from Iceland. The eruption took place under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajoekull area of the country.
In the UK, the Air Traffic Control Service has decreed that all non-emergency flights from airports across the country be grounded from 1200 BST after the Meteorological Office warned planes could be damaged.
The event has already affected business throughout the region. In Scotland, where the first airport closed in the UK, the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) is currently hosting the VisitScotland expo with a number of international delegates attending.
Director of sales, SECC, Ben Goedegebuure, tells EW: "The most important thing for us as a venue is to ensure our delegates are well looked after and when events like these disrupt their plans we work closely with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau to help arrange alternative accommodation where necessary.
"At the moment, we are hosting an international tourism exhibition and while a number of delegates were hoping to travel abroad today others will be going on driving tours around Scotland and remain unaffected.”
