www.timesofearth.com LONDON – Thousands of flights from European airports have been cancelled because of a cloud of ash thrown up by the eruption of a volcano in Iceland. A number of countries have closed their airspace, including Britain, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and the northern Poland. Flights were also severely disrupted in Norway, Finland and Switzerland, while airports in the north of France and Germany were closed later in the evening as volcanic ash drifted across Europe. The cancellations came after a volcano under Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier erupted for the second time in less than a month on Wednesday, sending plumes of black ash and white steam into the air. Emergency officials in Iceland were evacuating hundreds of people late on Thursday as new flash floods threatened to endanger farms in the area near an ash-spewing volcano. Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest, was among the British airports that were to be shut down from 11:00 GMT, authorities said. In London, Britain’s air traffic service said it was extending a ban on most air traffic in England until 1200GMT Friday, but flights to Scotland and Northern Ireland may be allowed to resume. Half of all transatlantic flights were expected to be cancelled on Friday due to the cloud of ash, the intergovernmental Eurocontrol agency said. On average, there are around 600 flights between Europe and North America. The disruption had caused chaos at the airport, which normally sees