Ash from a volcano in eastern Iceland drifted in a cloud over northern Europe on Wednesday, disrupting airline flights but posing little danger, meteorological and airport officials said. The Icelandic Meteorological Office reported a steady stream of ash and lava from the Grimsvotn volcano in eastern Iceland, with explosions Wednesday sending ash as much as 40,000 feet (12,000 meters) into the air. The volcano first erupted late Monday, sending a column of ash drifting toward continental Europe. Ash made landfall in Norway, Sweden and Finland, officials said. The meteorological office said trans-Atlantic flights had been diverted south of Iceland to avoid the ash cloud, and domestic flights to the northeast of Iceland were canceled. Dutch airline KLM said it had canceled 59 flights, stranding hundreds of passengers at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, because of the cloud of ash hanging above Europe. --More 0023 Local Time 2123 GMT
