Eyjafjallajokull: Volcano Leaves Travel in the Dust
The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull has returned to the travel forefront, with its ash cloud forcing the closure of airspace in Ireland for much of the day May 4. The closure halted all flights traveling to and from Dublin (DUB), Cork (ORK), Shannon (SNN), Connaught (NOC) and Waterford Regional (NOC) airports for six hours, leaving travelers literally in the dust.
We hoped we’d seen the end of the volatile volcano after the six-day shutdown of air travel in Europe following the April 15 eruption. At that time more than 10,000 flights were cancelled and millions of people were stranded.
While there’s a good chance the worst of the impacts are behind us, Mother Nature could still have some tricks up her sleeves. The 1783 eruption of the Icelandic volcano Laki spread a cloud of ash across Europe for more than six months.
Eyjafjallajokull could do the same—according to the Associated Press, Eamonn Brennan, chief of the Irish Aviation Authority, believes there may be a "summer of uncertainty."The full impacts of this eruption remains to be seen, but in the meantime travelers should keep an eye on the ash cloud while the rest of us practice a mouthful of Icelandic: Eyjafjallajokull, (ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl).