Volcanic ash grounds 1,000 European flights

Eurocontrol, the European air traffic agency, said Britain and the Netherland were the worst affected areas, although it expected the situation to improve later on Monday.

"During the course of the day, the current cloud is expected to disperse," the agency said in a statement. "Delays will also be experienced by flights due to congestion in airspace adjacent to closed areas."

Britain's two biggest airports reopened after overnight closures, but passengers were warned to expect long delays and cancelations through the day.

Airports in Ireland and the Netherlands were also closed over fears that the drifting ash could damage jet engines and bring down aircraft.

The same Icelandic volcano's ash last month prompted a number of European countries to close their airspaces for nearly a week and travel chaos ensued in Europe and beyond.

British Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said aviation officials and aircraft makers were considering whether to allow planes to fly through higher densities of ash; Kazinform cites The Arab News.

See www.arabnews.com for full version