The recent eruption of a volcano in Iceland could cause troubles for anyone who planned to fly to a French holiday this weekend.

Volcanic ash driven into the air across Europe has grounded flights across the continent and all flights in UK airspace have been severely effected. Although flights are expected to resume in the next 36 hours, as practically all commercial traffic has been grounded for two consecutive days, airlines are warning that there is a substantial backlog of passengers to clear before normal services can resume this weekend.

The BBC reports that the disruption could resume later in the weekend after an initial gap. It is expected that prevailing winds will drive the bulk of the ash plume across the north of Europe, towards Scandinavia, in the next 24 hours. However, the BBC’s weather forecaster Mark Taylor says that later in the weekend the winds will return to a northwesterly direction and will increase the risk of ash back to the UK airspace.

Flights have been grounded because the tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the immense ash cloud are capable of blocking aircraft’s jet engines. Currently a limited number of flights are running from Northern Ireland, the western isles of Scotland and Glasgow and Prestwick airport, though these are strictly limited to North Atlantic flights.

Air travel is the only means of transport that has been effected by the ash cloud – so it is still possible to take the Eurostar, the channel tunnel or make a ferry/hovercraft crossing over the weekend. These services are likely to be busier than normal though.

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3. Driving on a French Holiday
4. Ferry and Rail firms to prolong ash success
5. French holiday with a difference

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