All flights to and from the United Kingdom have been cancelled after the eruption of a volcano in the Eyjafjallajoekull region in Iceland, including two flights to Sofia International Airport, the airport's official website confirmed on April 15 2010.

Two flights from London landed according to schedule. British Airways BA890 flight at 1.25pm and American Airlines AA6380.

However, two flights from Sofia bound for London, British Airways BA891 and American Airlines AA6379 for 2.30pm, have both been cancelled.

Airline passengers across the UK are facing enormous disruptions as an ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland grounded planes at every airport, UK media reported.

British air traffic control authorities said that no further flights would be allowed in or out of UK airspace until further notice. The volcanic ash is considered very dangerous for the engines and could cause catastrophic damage during flight.

Tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the ash cloud would be sufficient to jam aircraft engines.

Consequently, passengers at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted were told flights were cancelled, constituting in all, hundreds of flights. Additionally, northern British airports such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Newcastle and the one in Belfast, Northern Ireland, were shut completely.

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano is the second such eruption in that particular area is the in the space of a month.

Eyjafjallajökull is one of the smaller glaciers of Iceland. It is situated to the north of Skogar and to the west of the larger glacier Myrdalsjokull.