2010+Icelandic+Eruption

14th of April || How to pronounce Eyjafjallajoekull - [] || Most have returned to their homes with a warning that they may have to evacuate again. || This is a satalite image taken at 6:00am GMT on the 15th of April showing the ash cloud
 * Date || First eruptions occured 20th March
 * Event || Fissure eruption of Eyjafjallajoekull volcano producing high-silica containing lava and ash
 * Effects || * Ash mixed with melted glacial water creating lahars (see video [])
 * Due to prevailing winds, ash ploom heads south disrupting air traffic in Northern European countries such as the UK and those in Scandinavia. (BBC news)
 * UK air space completely closed on the 15th of April due to fears of ash causing jet engines to fail. (BBC news)
 * Oslo Airport closed (uk.travel.yahoo.com)
 * The last time Eyjafjallajoekull erupted was in 1821 and two years later nearby volcano Mount Katla erupted (At present there is a small possibility that it could erupt soon) ||
 * Casualties || No reported causualties but around 800 people evacuated earlier on in the year when the volcano showed signs of eruption and there were fears of flooding from glaciers. (BBC news)
 * Economic losses || * Thousands of flights grounded leaving hundreds of thousands of passangers stranded at airports accross the world.
 * Shops not restocking due to products not being delivered from over seas. (BBC Points West)
 * Passengers having to spend money on hotel rooms until they can find a flight.
 * Airlines get out of a £20m conpensation fee claiming the event was an "act of God" and therefore out of their control. (Daily Mail, 16/04/10)
 * People who are stranded abroad may be unable to get to work the following week.
 * British Airways are losing £20m a day.
 * The International Air Transport Association estimates that this crisis is costing the industry £130m a day and describes the European response as an "embarrassment". (uk.news.yahoo.com)
 * Jim French, chief executive of Flybe, told Sky News that the Government would need to consider bailout packages for struggling airlines. (uk.news.yahoo.com)
 * Crisis threatens plans to merge British Airways and Iberia airlines. ||
 * Social losses || * World leaders may be unable to get to the funeral of Polish president Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash along with many other senior Polish officials. The funeral took place as scheduled on the 18th of April but the only world leader to attend was Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. (BBC News)
 * Hospital paitents in need of bone marrow transplants are fighting for life as transplants are delayed to due bone marrow and surgions being stuck abroad. (uk,news.yahoo.com) ||
 * Airline news || 19th of April
 * BA completes a successful test flight in perfect conditionsfrom Heathrow to Cardiff flying into the Atlantic in the ash cloud. A BA spokesperson stated that there were no difficulties and that the plane would go through a full technical analysis at a British Airways engineering base in Cardiff. They are now calling for the blanket ban to be lifted. (uk.news.yahoo.com)
 * Dutch Airline KLM have also claimed to have carried out a successful test flight through the ash cloud. (uk.news.yahoo.com)
 * Air France, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines have also sent up test flight however not throught the highly concentrated ash cloud. (uk.news.yahoo.com)
 * **Transport Secretary tells Sky News that Britain's airspace may open on the 20th of April after a "dramatic decrease" in volcanic activity**. (uk.news.yahoo.com)
 * Prime Minister Brown made arrangements with Prime Minister Zapatero of Spain to use Spanish airports as a hub to bring britons home. (uk.news.yahoo.com)
 * Royal Navy to help rescue britons stranded abroad. (uk.news.yahoo.com)
 * Full UK air space open on 22th of April (BBC News) ||

Meteorologist's projection of the ash cloud at 18:00 GMT on the 15th of April (Both images from BBC news)