April 14, 2010, will be remembered in aviation history as the day that European airspace stood still. Not since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, had European and trans-Atlantic aviation witnessed so much disruption, triggered this time by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, which caused the progressive shutdown of airspace across the continent.
More than 20 nations emptied their skies and more than 300 airports closed, leading to the cancellation of around 100,000 flights and the grounding of up to 10 million passengers until Europe’s airspace was reopened beginning April 20. Air travel was again disrupted, with delays and re-routing, during the weekend of May 8–9. Spanish air traffic control was forced to close seven airports on May 9, although they were reopened soon afterward, but as late as May 17, the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority imposed a no-fly zone comprising London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London City airports, among others.
No sooner h…
