This was the second volcanic eruption in a month underneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier (Island mountain glacier) in the Southern Iceland. The first eruption happened on March 20th which forced more than 500 people to evacuate. An enormous cloud of ash caused the biggest flight disruption in the air space of North Europe. Hundreds of flights were cancelled in United Kingdom and it completely shut down the Scottish airports. Air India had to divert its Delhi-London Flight to Paris while, Kingfisher and Jet airways had to cancel their flights to London which eventually led to thousands of travellers stranded at home and abroad. Analysts say “airlines will suffer a dent on revenues of approximately Rs 1-1.5 crore on each flight”. This was the biggest air space disruption since World Trade Centre attack on (9/11).

When a Volcanic eruption takes place the ash of it causes serious problems to the airplanes because it reduces the visibility while flying and it also gets into the engine and electrical systems of the planes. Ash can pit the windscreens of the pilot's cabin, damage the fuselage and light covers, and even coat the plane so much that it becomes tail-heavy. At runways, ash creates an extra problem because takeoffs and landings will throw it into the air again – where the engines can suck it in and can cause lot of problems for the planes.

 

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w89a2t5O9UY