Iceland volcano ash cancels 500 flights across Europe

The ash cloud from the erupting Iceland volcano Grimsvötn could force the cancellation of up to 500 commercial flights in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of Scandinavia, the European air traffic agency has said.

Between 200 and 250 flights have already been cancelled across Europe. Thousands are expected to be affected by the disruption with over 30,000 flights in Europe, on average, every day at this time of the year.

Despite the severity of the Grimsvötn eruption, Iceland's biggest in 50 years, the disruption to aviation has not been on the same scale as last year, when the ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano crippled aviation throughout Europe. The authorities say procedures have been improved since then and the cloud is currently not expected to move over continental Europe.

Vlada Islanda

Grimsvötn volcano

Icelandic volcano

volcano on Iceland

Eyjafjallajökull volcano