Indian carriers cancel flights to US, Europe, Canada

Indian carriers on Friday halted flights to Europe, the US and Canada following the closure of airports in Europe due to a cloud of volcanic ash from an eruption in Iceland.

Jet Airways has cancelled all flights bound for London, Brussels and the US, for April 16, it said in a statement.

"Jet Airways has cancelled all flights to and from London, Brussels, Newark, New York and Toronto...and announced an indefinite delay in flights between the above-mentioned destinations," a spokeswoman for Jet said.

She said it was too early to quantify the financial impact due to the cancellations.

State-run Air India said it suspended all westbound flights to Europe, the US and Canada for the next 48 hours.

Flights from the US to Europe and India are also delayed indefinitely, Air India said in a statement.  

Kingfisher also cancelled flights from Mumbai and New Delhi to London Heathrow on Friday, a spokesman said.

The volcano began erupting on Wednesday and showed little sign of letting up even on Friday, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers travelling to that region.

Jet Airways closed down 2.7 percent at 537.15 rupees, while Kingfisher ended 1.88 percent lower at 49.65 rupees in a weak Mumbai market.