Flights from Balkans to Western Europe Canceled

This morning, most flights from Balkan airports to western Europe were canceled because a number of states in northern Europe have closed their airspace as the ash from the volcano continues to spread across Europe.

Experts say the tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the ash cloud from the still-erupting volcano in Iceland could jam aircraft engines, as has happened in previous incidents of planes flying into plumes of volcanic ash.

Most regional flights in the Balkans are still departing as scheduled.

The airspace over the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Lithuania has been closed, while the airspace over the UK, Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, Austria, parts of Germany and northern France has been partially closed.

A number of flights to western Europe departing from Bosnia have been canceled, and a similar situation has been seen in Serbia. Macedonia has also reported flight cancelations for routes to Prague and Budapest.

An Albanian state delegation led by the country's prime minister has been left stranded in Belgium since Thursday after the country closed its airspace.

In a statement released on Friday, Tirana's Mother Theresa International Airport announced that flights to London and Budapest have been canceled.

Hundreds of passangers were left stranded in Romanian airports and 44 international flights were canceled on Friday. Meanwhile the local metereologic agency, ANM, has announced that a cloud of volcanic ash should reach northwest Romania by tommorow morning at the latest, but noted it would not represent a threat to the population.

Croatia Airlines, the country's flagship carrier, announced that 800 passengers remained on the ground due to cancellations.

According to Europe's intergovernmental air control agency, Eurocontrol, 8,000 flights have so far been canceled all over Europe and it is expected that the number could rise to 17,000 today.