**EU transport ministers are to hold emergency talks by video conference on easing the volcanic ash cloud chaos paralysing air travel across Europe.**Sixty-three thousand flights have been cancelled in four days, with millions of passengers stranded worldwide.
EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said: “We cannot just wait until this ash cloud dissipates.”
Airports and airlines are questioning the need for a travel freeze said to be costing airlines $200m (£130m) a day.
Much of northern Europe remains a no-fly zone with airspace closed, or partially closed, in more than 20 countries.
And the prospect of a return to normal air travel remains far from clear.
The Spanish Minister for Europe, Diego Lopez Garrido, had said on Sunday that up to half of the flights across Europe could operate on Monday.
He was speaking after talks with Eurocontrol, which co-ordinates air traffic control in 38 nations. It had recommended the current flight ban.
But Brian Flynn, deputy head of operations for Eurocontrol, told the BBC that while half of the European landmass could be clear of ash cloud, that did not mean half of the flights could go ahead.
The flight bans came amid fears that the ash - a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles - can seriously damage aircraft engines.
Ash still ‘very worrying’
Siim Kallas said European authorities were working to find a solution that did not compromise safety.
As several airlines questioned the curbs, some carried out test flights and reported planes showing no obvious damage after flying through the ash.
However, a scientific test flight over Britain concluded that the situation could still be dangerous.
Dr Guy Gratton, who was part of the scientific team, said: “It’s still quite a complex mixture of clear air and very worrying but invisible volcanic ash at all sorts of heights.”
Weather experts say wind patterns mean the cloud is not likely to move far until later in the week.
Eurocontrol said there were only 5,000 flights in European airspace on Sunday, against 24,000 normally.
Britain has extended a ban on most flights in its airspace until at least 1900 local time on Monday (1800 GMT).
Our business editor Robert Peston understands that British Airways fears it may not be allowed to fly normal services until Thursday at the earliest.
Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands are keeping their airspace closed until 1200 GMT on Monday. Spain has re-opened its airspace after a brief closure. Officials there have suggested its airports could be used as an entry platform into Europe.
A proposal is that passengers from countries like Britain, who are stranded in the US or Asia, would fly into Spain and then continue their journey by train, boat or coach.
The idea could be discussed during the European transport ministers’ video conference, hosted by Spain.
Southern Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano began erupting for the second time in a month on Wednesday.
Iceland’s Meteorological Office said tremors from the volcano had grown more intense but the column of ash rising from it had eased to around 5km (3.1 miles).
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