Debris over Europe threatens jet engines
By Thomas Kupper and Scott LaFee, Union-Tribune staff writers
Friday, April 16, 2010
A tremendous cloud of volcanic ash drifted from Iceland across Northern Europe on Thursday and brought air travel across much of the continent to a halt.
Visitors were stuck, and Americans planning on trans-Atlantic travel in the next few days scrambled to rework their itineraries or cancel the trips.
At San Diego’s Balboa Travel, marketing director Tina Gilmore said “several hundred” clients were affected by the eruption of a volcano beneath Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier.
More than a hundred of them are already in Europe, with many scrambling to line up hotel rooms for the unexpected extension of their visits.
“We’re working with them to help them out,” Gilmore said. “But a lot of people can’t get out.”
