Photo Gallery The Waiting Game
A color-mapped satellite image shows the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull on Wednesday. The volcano erupted for the second time in the past month, sending a large plume of ash into the air that turned northern Europe's airspace into a no-fly zone.
On Thursday, the ash plume (shown in black) moved towards the British Isles and the European continent.
Stranded in Frankfurt: On Thursday morning, Germany's largest airport suspended all landings and takeoffs.
Twelve German airports closed Friday morning because of the threat of the ash plume. "If volcanic ash particles are ingested into a jet engine, they accumulate and clog the engines with molten glass," British vulcanologist David Rothery told the BBC.
And late Friday afternoon, German flagship airline Lufthansa said the company would cancel all of its flights in and out of Germany until at least midday on Saturday.
The ash plume also disrupted the travel plans of world leaders. Angela Merkel is seen here meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates at the Lisbon airport. The German chancellor had been en route from San Francisco to Berlin in her official government Airbus plane, but it had to be rerouted to the Portuguese capital after Germany closed its airspace.
All airports in London were closed at noon on Thursday, including Heathhrow, one of the world's most important hubs. The airport processes around 1,300 flights and 180,000 passengers each day.
Cancelled flights have left travelers in limbo.
Stranded passengers set up camp in the Frankfurt airport on Friday.
A makeshift bed at Düsseldorf International: Airports were expected to be closed at least until noon on Friday.
At Berlin's Tegel airport, all landings and takeoffs were suspended at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. There are still no reports on when the airport might reopen.
France closed 25 airports in the northern part of the country on Thursday, including Paris's busy Charles de Gaulle Airport (pictured here).
Air travel across Europe could be brought to a halt in the coming days.
The ash plume caused a chain reaction of worldwide cancellations. In Chicago, passengers traveling to northern Europe had to find alternate routes.
For lovers of sunsets, the ash plume caused vivid colors. Here, the sun sets over London's Gatwick Airport on Thursday.
