**European airlines have carried out test flights to see if it is safe to fly through volcanic ash from Iceland that has disrupted air travel for four days.**Dutch, German and French carriers sent planes up without suffering obvious damage, prompting some to question whether the risk has been overstated.
About 20 European countries have closed their airspace and some have extended flight bans into Monday.
Millions of travellers have been affected around the world.
The disruption is said to be greater than the shutdown that followed the 9/11 attacks.
Weather experts say wind patterns mean the cloud is not likely to move far until later in the week.
The flight bans came amid fears that the ash - a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles - can seriously damage aircraft engines. Airlines are estimated to be losing some £130m ($200m) a day.
Dutch carrier KLM said it had flown a Boeing 737-800 up to the usual maximum altitude of 13km (8 miles) on Saturday.
KLM chief executive Peter Hartman, who was on board, said there was “nothing unusual” about the flight.
“If the technical examination confirms this… we then hope to get permission as soon as possible to partially restart our operations,” he added.
Germany’s two biggest airlines, Lufthansa and Air Berlin, also said they had carried out test flights without apparent damage, as did Air France.
Air Berlin spokeswoman Diana Daedelow told the BBC: “It is astonishing that these findings… have seemingly been ignored in the decision-making process of the aviation safety authorities.”
Overcautious?
UK Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, said “urgent discussions” were taking place between European and international agencies to ease the chaos.
“We want to be able to resume flights as soon as possible, but safety remains my paramount concern,” he said.
Brian Flynn, head of operations at Eurocontrol - which co-ordinates air traffic control in 38 nations - said aviation authorities were dealing with an “unknown phenomenon”, but dismissed suggestions they were being over-cautious.
“Any risk of an aircraft penetrating an area that could have volcanic ash in it could have extreme safety consequences. And with the over-riding objective of protecting the travelling public, these exceptional measures have to be taken.”
Eurocontrol said some 17,000 flights had been cancelled across Europe on Saturday, from a total of 22,000 on a normal day.
All but 55 of 337 scheduled flights by US carriers to and from Europe were also cancelled.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said the disruption risked becoming a “major business and economic disaster” with several European airlines already facing financial difficulties.
“If [the disruption] goes on many days longer, a number of European airlines will run into financial difficulties and may need bailing out by governments - or so I am told by senior airline figures,” our correspondent said.
Polish funeral
Since Thursday, countries across northern and central Europe have either closed airspace or shut key airports.
Britain has extended a ban on most flights in its airspace until at least 0700 local time on Monday (0600 GMT).
Ireland is closing its airspace until 1200 GMT on Monday.
However airports in northern Spain - including Barcelona - have reopened, officials say.
Ukraine opened Kiev airport, which has been closed since Saturday.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich left for Krakow to attend the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, a presidential spokesman said.
Many world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, were unable to attend the funeral of Mr Kaczynski, who was killed in a plane crash last week, because of the travel restrictions.
Commuters across northern Europe have sought other means of transport, packing out trains, buses and ferries.
Southern Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano began erupting for the second time in a month on Wednesday, sending a plume of ash 8.5km (5.3 miles) high into the air.
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