Volcanic ash nearly gone, air safety experts say

The volcanic ash from the Icelandic volcano Grimsvötn that caused hundreds of flight cancellations in Europe has nearly dissipated.

Eurocontrol, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, reports there are no flight cancellations expected today. While a small amount of volcanic ash remains hovering over Europe, it is within safety limits and “will have very little or no impact on European air traffic in the coming 48 hours.”

All of European air space is currently open. Starting on Monday, Scotland and the rest of the UK experienced airport shutdowns, followed by Denmark, Norway, and Germany.

About 900 flights were canceled from Monday to Wednesday because of the volcano. This amounts to only one percent of all flights scheduled for those days.

Looks like we got off lucky this time.

[Image courtesy East718 via Wikimedia Commons]