Iceland, Volcano, Ash, Airline Cancellations: Here We Go Again

"Volcanic ash forces Heathrow, Gatwick to close Monday"
CNN (May 16, 2010)

"London's two major airports were preparing to close late Sunday as a cloud of ash from a volcano in Iceland moved east into England, British air authorities said.

"All flights into and out of Heathrow and Gatwick airports have been canceled for a six-hour period beginning early Monday, airport officials said.

"The affected flights are those scheduled between 1 a.m. (8 p.m. Sunday ET) and 7 a.m. (2 a.m. ET).

"The Monday cancellations were the latest in a round of weekend closures of airports in England and Ireland.

"Birmingham, Norwich Manchester and Liverpool airports were closed on Sunday evening, controllers announced...."


(from CNN, used w/o permission)

Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull, or Eyjafjallajokull, volcano could keep disrupting air travel around the northeastern Atlantic for quite a while:

"...There's no way to know how long the volcano will continue spewing ash into the air, Georgia Tech scientist Josef Dufek told CNN.

" 'It could go on another year,' he said, noting that an eruption lasted that long in 1820...."

Try two years?

"...'The UK's Met Office said Eyjafjallajökull was now releasing ash in 'pulses' rather than a steady plume, but scientists say it is too early to predict how long the eruption would last. The volcano's last major eruption in 1821 lasted for two years....'..."
(Excerpt from CNN in "Eyjafjallajökull Eruption: Two Years, Last Time" (April 17, 2010))

Either way: that's a long time to work airline schedules around ash clouds.

In a way, news about Iceland's volcano is a refreshing change of pace. So far, I haven't read about serious thinkers who feel that the volcano is Big [something]'s fault.

Related posts:

• "Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull, or Eyjafjallajokull, Volcano: Still Erupting & Disrupting"
  (May 10, 2010)
• "How do You Pronounce "Eyjafjallajökull," or "Eyjafjallajokull:" You Know, Iceland's Volcano?"
  (April 24, 2010)
• ""Eyjafjallajökull" or "Eyjafjallajokull:" Either Way, Iceland's Volcano is Making (Seismic) Waves"
  (April 23, 2010)
• "Eyjafjallajökull Eruption: Two Years, Last Time"
  (April 17, 2010)
• "Iceland Volcano Video Footage"
  (April 16, 2010)