Iceland volcano eruption threatens European air travel yet again

The Iceland volcano eruption last year caused airport services to shut down and flights cancelled across Europe. Now, another one of the country's restive volcanoes is at it again after staying quiet since 2004.

The latest Iceland volcano eruption is by Grimsvotn in the Vatnajokull icecap located at the highlands of Iceland. It sent a towering column of ash into the air potentially creating a hazard for aircraft traveling the busy skies over Europe.

Last year, the volcano Eyjafjallajokull erupted and sent massive amounts of smoke and ash into the atmosphere that disrupted air travel across Europe.  The latest Iceland volcano eruption is less in magnitude, but aviation officials and governments in Europe are carefully monitoring its impact in the next several hours.

Thick ash blanketed towns and villages in the vicinity of the volcano. The ash cloud has drifted towards Reykjavik whose airport has been shutdown indefinitely.

"Ash cloud is expected to reach North Scotland on Tuesday 24th May," a European air traffic bulletin said. "If volcanic emissions continue with same intensity, cloud might reach west French airspace and north Spain on Thursday 26th May."

The intensity of the Iceland volcano eruption was said to be the strongest by Grimsvotn since 1873. The tower of plume reached a peak height of 25 kilometers but has since dropped to between 10 and 15 kilometers tall.

Seismic activity is reportedly subsiding and the wind patterns indicate that the worst is over. The airline industry is hoping that the latest Iceland volcano eruption is much less severe than last year's explosion which cost airlines millions of dollars.