Iceland volcano brings havoc to Northern Europe with thousands of flights cancelled and hundreds of thousands of passengers left stranded.

Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world travelling to Northern Europe and out of the continent were stranded after the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland erupted yesterday, sending ash thousands of kilometers above ground.

British airports including Gatwick and Heathrow cancelled almost 70% of all departure and arrival flights and major delays were also noted in Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.

Air Canada, American Airlines and many other major airlines had cancelled their flights from the United States, Canada and as far as Australia to and from London. Some Northern European country’s completely shut down airports including Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, the north of France, parts of northern Germany and North Sweden.

Video image of the volcano eruption and flooding.

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A total of 5,000 to 6,000 flights were cancelled leaving hundreds of thousands of holiday makers or people trying to come home stranded yesterday.

Ironically, Iceland’s airports had not been effected much by the ash as the volcano which is located in the South of the country blew the towards the South causing the smoke to go to Northern Europe.

Air Canada’s chief operating officer Duncan Dee said “Air Canada is closely monitoring the situation and is doing everything possible to accommodate affected customers. Due to heavy loads, particularly on flights to London starting today and into the weekend as a result of the end of Easter holidays, it may take several days after the reopening of the affected European airports before customers will be able to resume travel.”

Experts are warning that the ash should there be no other eruptions from the volcano could take up to five to six days to clear.

Images of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano’s eruption has been shown all over the Internet and world media as an unstoppable force capable of destroying everything in it’s past blew, the second volcanic eruption in the area in just a month.

Early flood warnings have been called of after melting ice from around the mountains had flooded some areas around the volcano and had closed roads and even almost demolished a bridge.

The flooding had caused 800 residents to be evacuated from the area but it is reported that the residents are now told that it is safe to return home.

Airport officials are saying that it is essential to keep all passengers

Experts are saying though the ashes were not visible to the naked eye, it could cause engines to fail and also restrict visibility which has occurred in such occasions in the past.

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