Volcanic ash cloud causes air travel chaos

London, England (CNN) -- A cloud of ash from a volcano in Iceland swept toward mainland Europe on Thursday, forcing up to 6,000 flight cancellations across the continent, according to the intergovernmental body that manages European air travel

Thousands of flights were affected as some of Europe's busiest airports closed, including London's Heathrow; Amsterdam, Netherlands' Schiphol; and Paris, France's Charles de Gaulle.

Volcanic ash can cause jet engines to shut down.

...Airspace over the United Kingdom was closed to all flights except emergencies at least until 7 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) Friday, Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said. The agency was due to review the situation Thursday evening.

France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands also announced the complete or partial closure of their airspace, authorities in each country said.

Norway also closed its ocean territory and canceled helicopter flights to offshore oil installations, according to Avinor, the Norwegian agency responsible for the country's airport network.

Germany closed the Berlin airport as well as airspace over the city, an airport spokesman said. ash = ceniza.......................................................................... closure = cierre swept = sweep/swept, barrer ..................................................airspace = espacio aereomainland = la masa principal de un país o de un continente..........offshore = lejos de la costaflight cancellations = cancelaciones de vuelos.......................... network = estación, red, cadena
jet engines = motor a reacción................................................ spokesman = portavozwas due = se esperaba, se suponía