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LONDON (AP) -- Ash from Iceland's spewing volcano halted air traffic across a wide swathe of Europe on Thursday, grounding planes on a scale not seen since the 9/11 terror attacks. Thousands of flights were canceled, tens of thousands of passengers were stranded and officials said it was not clear when it would be safe enough to fly again.
In a sobering comment, one scientist in Iceland said the ejection of volcanic ash -- and therefore disruptions in air travel -- could continue for days or even weeks.
Authorities stopped all flights over Britain, Ireland and the Nordic countries. The shutdown closed London's five major airports including Heathrow, Europe's busiest, a major trans-Atlantic hub that handles over 1,200 flights and 180,000 passengers per day.
With the cloud drifting south and east across Britain, the country's air traffic service banned all non-emergency flights until at least 7 a.m. (0600 GMT, 2 a.m. EDT) Friday.
