Northern Lights

The Northern Lights are seen above the ash plume of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano in the evening April 22, 2010. – Reuters pic

Warships sent to rescue stranded travelers

Warships sent to rescue stranded travelers

By JENNIFER QUINN and JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer

LONDON – Britain sent Royal Navy warships on Monday to rescue those stranded across the Channel by the volcanic ash cloud and the aviation industry blasted European officials, claiming there was "no coordination and no leadership" in the crisis that shut down most European airports for a fifth day.

Eurocontrol, the air traffic agency in Brussels, said less than one-third of flights in Europe were taking off Monday — between 8,000 and 9,000 of the continent's 28,000 scheduled flights. Passengers in Asia who had slept on airport floors for days and were running out of money staged protests at airport counters.

Icelandic volcano still spewing ash

Ash cloud grounds flights

A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano continues to cause the "greatest disruption to air travel since 9/11."