Iceland Volcano Grounds European Flights

By Douglas V. Gibbs

All airports in the United Kingdom have been closed because of a huge volcanic ash cloud that has hit the U.K. due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland. The largest shutdown since World War II, many European airports have also been closed as the cloud of ash sweeps south and east of Iceland.

The volcanic eruption is the second to strike Iceland in less than a month. The heat from the eruption was so fierce that it melted part of the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, sparking huge floods. Emergency officials in Iceland are in the process of evacuating hundreds of people as new flash floods endanger farms in the area.

Some airports in North America have also been affected, but not to the extent of their European counterparts.

The volcanic ash poses a threat to aircraft because it can affect visibility and debris can get sucked into plane engines, causing them to jam.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary