Chaos Persists as Flights Resume

Travel chaos has continued to grip Europe, despite the easing of its aerial lockdown as the Icelandic volcano eruption appeared to wane.

The UK has reopened its airports, allowing long-haul flights to land at Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest. A flight from Vancouver, Canada, was the first to arrive, while some flights have left Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, but airspace in Germany and Ireland remains restricted, reports BBC.

More than 95,000 flights were cancelled across Europe in the last week and it may take weeks to get passengers home. The disruption is having an increasing impact on business across the world.

Scientists say southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano is producing more lava, and the ash plume was shrinking, although it remains changeable. There are concerns the eruption could set off the nearby, larger Katla volcano, which sits on the Myrdalsjokull glacier, but officials said no activity had been detected. Its last major eruption was in 1918.

British Airways said it expected about two dozen flights from the United States, Africa and Asia to land by Wednesday morning. There was more good news for passengers as Air France said it would resume all long-haul flights from Wednesday, although services in parts of northern Europe would stay suspended.

The Republic of Ireland also reopened its airspace, while Norway has reopened all of its airspace until midnight. Elsewhere in Scandinavia, airports in north-central Sweden were operating, although Stockholm's main airport was being closed due to the ash cloud.