Volcano Costs Rise as Plume Spreads

The Icelandic volcano eruption that has dumped aggravation on travelers and financial pain on airlines was estimated to cost airlines more than $200 million a day in lost revenue, while some in the industry questioned whether regulators need to shut down so much airspace.As of late Friday, there was no end in sight to the disruption. The ash plume from the volcano, which is under a glacier known as Eyjafjallajökull, drifted south and east across Europe on Friday, spuring airspace closures and the cancellation of an estimated 16,000 of Europe's 28,000 flights Friday, officials said. On Thursday, when closures began following a major eruption the previous night, about 8,000 flights were canceled. Between 100 and 120 trans-Atlantic flights arrived in Europe of the 300 typically expected.
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Picture Left:Airplanes stood idle at London's Gatwick airport on Friday as an ash cloud shut down airports across Europe.(Sang Pan/AP)