As forecasters say that
a cloud of volcanic dust spreading from Iceland across Europe
show some signs of moving,
officials have expressed hope that
up to half of all flights across Europe
could operate on Monday.
The European Transport Commissioner
 and Spanish minister for Europe
were speaking after talks with the air traffic agency, Eurocontrol.
Warren Bull reports.
After adopting a cautious approach up till now,
the airline industry has increasingly pushed
the European authorities to end the flight restrictions
which have caused travel chaos in Europe and beyond.
Several airlines, including KLM and Lufthansa,
have expressed anger that the decision
to ground flights appears to have been taken solely
on the basis of the computer simulation.
They say they've carried out their own test flights
and reported no problems.
Conscious of a need to show strong leadership
over the air travel crisis,
European Union transport ministers are expected
to hold an emergency video conference on Monday.