Seventeen transatlantic flights to or from Los Angeles International Airport were canceled Thursday following a volcanic eruption in Iceland that sent large clouds of ash into the atmosphere.
Some 4,500 LA passengers had been disrupted, an airport official said.
Officials say the volcanic ash could damage jet engines and are cancelling flights as a precaution. Affected airlines were Air New Zealand, American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.
Eight flights from Amsterdam, London and Paris were canceled, as well as nine departing flights, said LAX spokeswoman Nancy Suey Castles.
The interruption in air traffic is believed to be the biggest since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Officials at Heathrow Airport, Britain's busiest, were telling ticketed travelers to go home, because they had no estimate for when flights would resume. Some 45,000 people were reported stranded at the Manchester airport this morning.
It was unclear how long atmosphere would be fouled, because the volcano was still erupting late Thursday.
