Eruptions continued at the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland on Tuesday as a plume of smoke headed toward Britain, causing flight disruptions and stoking fears of a repeat of an eruption last year at another Icelandic volcano.

"The low-level winds are … blowing strongly towards the UK," said Peitur Arason of the Icelandic Meteorological Office, as British air traffic operator NATS said volcanic ash was expected to reach Scottish airspace by early Tuesday.

Regional Scottish airline Loganair said it had already cancelled 36 flights, whilst British Airways, Dutch carrier KLM, Irish airline Aer Lingus and budget airline Easyjet also suspended flights late Monday bound for northern Britain.

Authorities in Norway said the ash cloud had reached Norwegian airspace, causing disruptions at its western Stavanger airport. Danish aviation officials also reported delays and cancellations at Copenhagen airport.

The eruption - the Grimsvotn volcano's most powerful in over a century - has spewed ash particles across Iceland and forced the closure of the country's airspace on Sunday.

US President Barack Obama, on a four-nation tour of Europe, was forced to cut short his visit to Ireland on Monday out of concern that the ash cloud could disrupt air traffic, a White House official said, leading to his arrival in Britain a day ahead of schedule.

Ash cloud spreads

The Grimsvotn eruption has stoked memories of a flare-up last year at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which caused travel chaos around the globe. European aviation experts and volcanologists, however, have predicted little chance of similar widespread airspace closures.

Volcanologists said the plume's content was heavier than that of the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption, meaning it was less likely to spread.

Sunday's disruptions in the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, and of some transatlantic flight paths took place during a mobile low-pressure zone in the north Atlantic whose movement is hard to predict, experts said.

During the crisis last year, however, the spread of ash from Eyjafjallajokull was aided by a stable high-pressure zone causing the ash cloud to wreak havoc across Europe. That eruption triggered a six-day air travel ban, which stranded tens of thousands of airline passengers and caused considerable economic damage around the globe.

Author: Darren Mara (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler