Airports: Flights across much of Europe are being cancelled

Hundreds of thousands of passengers are affected and severe disruption could extend into the weekend, including on flights to North America and Asia. Some 5,000 flights were cancelled on Thursday as airspaces from the Republic of Ireland to Finland were closed. The ash is not thought to pose a serious health risk to people however. Health officials in Scotland, where the ash was expected to start falling overnight, said the concentration of particles that fell was likely to be low, and effects on people with existing respiratory conditions were "likely to be short term". The UK's Met Office said any ash that did reach ground level would be barely visible. UK restrictions originally in place until 1300 (1200 GMT) on Friday have been extended until at least 1900 (1800 GMT), although some exceptions may be possible in Scotland and Northern Ireland. "In general, the situation cannot be said to be improving with any certainty," said a statement issued by the National Air Traffic Service. The European air traffic control organisation, Eurocontrol, said a lack of wind meant the ash cloud created by the volcano underneath Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull glacier was "progressing very slowly eastwards" and remained "very dense". The airspaces of the UK, Irish Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands closed their airspaces on Thursday. France shut down 24 airports in the north of the country, including the main hub of Paris-Charles de Gaulle, while Germany's Berlin and Hamburg airports were also closed on Thursday evening.