Ash cloud costs airlines millions

The pesky ash cloud from Iceland's volcano costs Europe's airports an estimated 300 million Euros ($371 million USD) in losses and 17 million customers. 

After seeing a first quarter growth of 5.2 percent in air travel in Europe, the ash plume pretty much toppled what was suppose to be the comeback year for the airline industry.

The threat of another round of eruptions is not out of the question, which has many airlines worried that they will see a repeat on what occurred in April when planes were grounded for nearly a week.

The only positive for the airlines is that they have seen strong summer bookings and fully expect a growth of 3 percent as the economy slowly improves and more people start flying again.

Source: MSNBC