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

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

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

Air NZ is bearing the brunt of financial losses caused by the the Iceland volcano disruption, an expert says.

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

The eruption is unlikely to have inflicted significant financial pain on Air NZ, analysts say.

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.

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

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.

The Governor-General has been forced to cancel plans to attend the late Polish President's funeral.

Enhanced engine technology has magnified the risk of fatal damage to aircraft flying into volcanic ash clouds, writes Mathew Dearnaley.

Kiwis travelling to the London Book Fair next week have been scattered and stranded all over the globe with volcanic ash continuing to disrupt flights across Europe.

1500 Air NZ passengers among more than a million affected by airport shutdowns across Europe.

The body of a veteran climber who fell 450 metres into the crater atop the Mount St Helens volcano was recovered today.

Lava flowing from a volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo is threatening a population of endangered chimpanzees.