Corporal Apiata, who had been serving with the SAS in Afghanistan, touched down at Auckland International Airport at 5.15am yesterday.

The first flight back from London after disruptions from volcanic ash has landed at Auckland airport.

The quiet of the no-fly zone has been replaced by the roar of airplane engines across Britain today.

Another Icelandic volcano is expected to explode, potentially causing more disruption than Eyjafjallajokull.

Europe has received a sharp shock of awareness about its addiction to cheap jet travel.

Tourism Auckland has had more than 200 offers from people offering rooms for stranded travellers.

A NZ couple's wedding plans are in tatters - they are grounded in London and their guests are waiting in Tauranga.

Stranded travellers are piling into buses, trains and high-priced taxis in a frantic scramble to accomplish an increasingly tricky mission: Escape from Europe.

NZ passengers trying to fly to Europe are expected to be stranded here for at least two weeks.

The impact of Iceland's erupting volcano should make us ponder the very nature of how we have organised the way we live now, writes Hamish McRae.

Air traffic could return to half its normal level in Europe if clouds dissipate overnight, EU officials have said.

Air NZ has started flying passengers home from stopovers if they are unwilling or unable to wait for ash to clear over Europe.

Britain is bracing for what scientists warn could be weeks of disruption from the volcanic dust cloud blanketing Europe.

More than 2000 passengers are stuck in NZ as airports remain closed until at least 7am tomorrow.