Iceland's ash cloud hurts airline industry

A report released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed that international air traffic dropped by 2.4 percent in April largely due to passengers canceling flights due to Iceland's pesky ash cloud. 

The hardest hit by the the ash cloud were European carriers, which collectively saw a 11.7 percent decrease in traffic. North American airlines did a little better with north Atlantic flights down down 1.9 percent. The data released by IATA did not include domestic flights and represented over 240 airlines.

Analysts predict that the ash cloud's havoc on airlines will slow down the industry's global recovery. Before the ash cloud, airlines believed they were just about back to normal with traffic levels, but that all changed once Eyjafjallajokull erupted in April.

Source: BBC News