The volcano began erupting on April 14, releasing ash that last month caused the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II, affecting more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers over a week.

The ash output hit a secondary high last Thursday, spewing a plume as high as 10,000 metres (32,800 feet) into the air, but had since decreased, Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson of the University of Iceland told AFP.

However, "The eruption is ongoing ... We see no end in sight," the geologist said.

Eyjafjoell was on Monday emitting about 50 tonnes of ash every second, down from between 300-400 tonnes per second on Thursday, he said.

"We expect it will be declining over the next few days, so gradually things should go back to a slightly better stage," he said.

The volcano had almost stopped emitting ash for several weeks as red-hot lava oozed out instead, but last week converted back to its initial, explosive state, again causing flights to be grounded in several European countries.

It showed "a considerable increase in activity about a week ago ... which is what is causing this renewal of disruptions in European air travel," Gudmundsson said.

While Eyjafjoell might return to a more docile state, emitting lava instead of ash, there was no way of knowing when the eruption itself would end, he said.

"There is still slight earthquake activity under the volcano and we see no indication the eruption will stop in the next few days," he said, adding "but nothing is impossible."

Gudmundsson said it was in one way positive the eruption was continuing. "While it is ongoing, I don't expect any other eruptions," he said.

Eyjafjoell has previously erupted on four known occasions, with each followed by blasts at the nearby Katla volcano which is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Iceland, and which last erupted in 1918.

"In the past, each eruption here has led to an eruption in the Katla volcano, which is much more active and which erupts much more frequently and has larger eruptions," Gudmundsson said.

The ongoing eruption was the largest ever registered at Eyjafjoell, he said.

The geologist stressed however that so far, "there is no sign of any activity at Katla."

earlier related report
Europe faces fresh flight disruptions from ash cloud
Madrid (AFP) May 10, 2010 - Air traffic over southern Europe faced more disruption Monday from an ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano, even as clearer skies in some areas let flights resume after a weekend of cancellations.

European air traffic agency Eurocontrol warned that by Monday afternoon "areas of higher ash concentration could move in a north-easterly direction from the Atlantic into the Iberian Peninsula," causing fresh flight troubles in Spain and Portugal.

About 500 fewer flights would take to the skies in Europe on Monday because of the ash cloud, which would also force transatlantic planes to fly lengthy detours, Brussels-based Eurocontrol said in a statement.

Spain was forced to impose overflight restrictions on air traffic between 20,000 and 35,000 feet (6,000 metres and 10,600 metres), the country's aviation authority, AENA, said in a statement.

The overflight restrictions came after Spain earlier reported the reopening of all 19 airports that had been affected by the ash cloud over the weekend.

A spokeswoman for AENA said that some air corridors normally reserved for the military may now be used for civil aviation.

An extra air corridor should also be opened Monday by the air traffic control centre in the Canary Islands "in order to help air traffic between the Americas and Europe."

In neighbouring Portugal, airports at Lisbon and the northern city of Oporto reopened early Monday but by 1600 GMT some 320 flights had been suspended, civil aviation authority NAV said.

Faro airport was closed from Monday evening as the ash cloud moved over Portugal's southern Algarve region, but was due to reopen midday Tuesday.

All flights to the Azores and Madeira remained grounded from the weekend.

Lisbon airport is the arrival point for Pope Benedict XVI who is due to begin on Tuesday a four-day visit to the country.

Portuguese Catholic Church officials have said that if necessary there is a "Plan B" to ensure the pontiff's visit goes ahead as planned.

Air traffic over French territory was almost normal, authorities said, barring some flight delays because of route changes, with weather forecasts favourable for Tuesday.

The eruption of the Eyjafjoell volcano in Iceland, which caused travel chaos worldwide with the airspace closed over many European nations for a week last month, was again causing delays due to "significant re-routings" of transatlantic flights, Eurocontrol said.

"Areas of high ash concentration have dispersed overnight over continental Europe," it underlined, adding there were around 1,500 fewer flights than anticipated on Sunday.

After a weekend of air travel disruptions, airports also reopened Monday in Austria, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Scotland, except for the airport at Barra island in the west.

But transatlantic flights to the United States, Canada and the Caribbean were suffering delays -- some for more than five hours -- especially those departing from London's Gatwick airport.

Saudi Airlines said it had halted flights between the United States and Saudi Arabia because of the ash cloud, and some of its flights between Europe and North America were also being delayed and rerouted.

Iceland's volcano began erupting on April 14 and spewed a cloud of volcanic ash that drifted over much of Western Europe for a week, closing airspace and grounding planes for fear that the ash would damage aircraft engines with fatal results.

It was the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II, with more than 100,000 flights cancelled and eight million passengers affected.

Geologists in Iceland say that while the situation should improve over the next few days, the volcanic eruption is not about to end soon.

The ash output hit a secondary high last Thursday, spewing a plume as high as 10,000 metres into the air, but had since decreased, Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson of the University of Iceland told AFP.

Eyjafjoell was on Monday emitting about 50 tonnes of ash every second, down from between 300-400 tonnes per second on Thursday, the geologist said.

However, he added: "The eruption is ongoing.... We see no end in sight."

earlier related report
Volcanic ash cloud returns, disrupting European flights
Lisbon (AFP) May 9, 2010 - Hundreds of flights at airports from Lisbon to Munich were cancelled Sunday and some European airspace was closed because of a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland that caused air travel chaos last month.

All flights to the city of Porto in northern Portugal and the Azores were suspended, with airport officials saying Lisbon airport would remain closed until at least 1200 GMT Monday.

In all more than 200 flights were grounded in Portugal, including 71 at Lisbon, where Pope Benedict XVI is due to arrive on Tuesday for a four-day visit to the country.

The Vatican said Sunday the pope's trip was still on schedule despite the air traffic disruptions.

"At the present time, we expect no change to the programme" of the pope's visit, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told AFP.

The volcanic ash cloud's unwelcome return affected air travel across much of southern Europe, especially in France and Italy, and extended into Austria and Germany.

The airspace around the southern German city of Munich was closed at 1300 GMT, cancelling flights there and at other airports including Stuttgart, but DFS air safety agency said Munich airport, Germany's second busiest, reopened at 1900 GMT.

Airport officials told AFP that 460 take-offs and landings had been cancelled at Munich on Sunday out of more than 1,000 scheduled movements. Fifteen delayed long-distance flights would take off after the airport reopens, said a spokesman.

DFS also gave the green light for two regional airports to reopen at 2000 GMT. Stuttgart was back in business at 1600 GMT.

The German weather service DWD said it expected the cloud to move over central Germany overnight Sunday and the rest of the country during Monday, with no more ash disruption from Tuesday.

Southern Czech airspace was closed late Sunday but the airport of the capital Prague was not affected, aviation authorities said.

Neighbouring Austria also partially closed its airspace until the early hours of Monday, hampering traffic at airports in Vienna, Innsbruck, Linz and Salzburg, the air authority Austro Control said.

The coordinator of air traffic control across Europe said it expected about 24,500 flights to take place on Sunday, around 500 less than the average for this time of year.

Eurocontrol added that "transatlantic flights continue to be affected by the ash cloud", with many suffering delays as they skirt the edges of the volcanic plume.

Authorities reopened Italy's skies in the north to air traffic at 1400 GMT after shutting down its airspace earlier for about six hours as the ash cloud hovered over the peninsula, cancelling nearly 300 flights at Milan airports.

On Croatia's Adriatic coast the ash cloud forced officials to close airports at Split and Zadar at 1200 GMT.

In France, the airspace remained open Sunday but at least 100 flights bound for southern Europe were grounded at airports in Paris, Lyon, and Nice, the nearest international airport to Cannes which is to host its flagship international film festival in three days' time.

The French weather service Meteo-France warned that the volcanic ash cloud could drift over southern France by Monday morning and that it could continue to affect Europe's skies for several months.

Late Sunday, Meteo-France said that fresh rainfall was expected Monday which it said was "rather good news" as it would help disperse the ash.

Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano erupted on April 14 and caused travel chaos worldwide with airspace closed over many European nations for a week in mid-April for fears the ash would damage aircraft engines with fatal results.

It was the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II, with more than 100,000 flights cancelled affecting some eight million passengers. The airline industry said it lost about 2.5 billion euros (3.2 billion dollars).

The volcano began fresh and intensive ash eruptions overnight Thursday and closed Ireland's airspace for a time, and was again affecting the island nation on Sunday.

Irish airports at Donegal, Sligo and Ireland West (Knock) on the western coast faced restrictions from 1400 GMT Sunday while Galway would be disrupted from 1500 GMT and Kerry from 2100 GMT, authorities said.

Meanwhile, Spanish air traffic was returning to normal with most of the 19 airports in northern Spain that were closed on Saturday reopening around 1400 GMT, air control authority Aena said.

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