Volcano closes Iceland’s airports for first time

Iceland is the latest victim of its own volcanic cloud. A change in wind direction has forced the north Atlantic country to close all main airports for the first time since the eruptions began. Reykjavik airport is deserted, after all flights leaving were cancelled.

The volcano, about 120 kilometres southeast of the capital, has been spewing ash and lava for eight days.

The cloud forced the closure of airports across Europe, and some passengers are still not home yet. Thousands are stranded, not just in Europe, but all over the world.

One woman stuck on the French island of La Reunion feels the airlines are not helping: “They told us that regular flights have priority. We can’t do anything for you. If you can afford a ticket for 1,000 euros, choose another company.”

Another man at the airport in La Reunion said: “We don’t have any way to make them attend to us except yelling.”

Air traffic agency, Eurocontrol, say that all 29,000 scheduled flights across the continent should take off as normal. However, it could still be weeks before the backlog of delayed travellers is cleared.

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