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Prognosis grim, say U.K. officials

— Photo: AP

Left high and dry:Stranded passengers at the Borispol airport, near Kiev, on Saturday.

LONDON: The unprecedented international air travel crisis caused by volcanic ash from Iceland worsened on Saturday and experts warned that the disruption was likely to continue for several days as much of the European airspace remained closed for the third day with millions of passengers stranded around the world.

The ban on flying in Britain, barring some domestic flights, was further extended until Sunday but with no sign of the ash dispersing quickly officials said the “prognosis” was grim.

“We need a change of wind direction that stays changed for several days and there is no sign of that in the immediate future,” Professor Brian Golding, head of forecasting research at the Met Office, told the BBC.

He said the volcanic cloud would remain over the U.K. for several days.

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