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Smoke billows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull - Source: Reuters -
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Europe's airlines and airport operators said they were losing millions of euros a day as the ban on air travel due to Iceland's volcanic eruption was expected to continue into the weekend.
Air industry body IATA said that at the current levels of disruption, airlines could lose revenues in excess of $200 million per day. They also face added costs for re-routing of aircraft and care for stranded passengers, it said.
Dutch airline KLM, part of Franco-Dutch Air France-KLM, expects damages of between five and 10 million euros per day due to the disruption, KLM Chief Executive Peter Hart said.
The fallout hit airlines' shares on Friday with Lufthansa, British Airways, Air Berlin, Air France-KLM, Iberia and Ryanair down between 1.3 and 2.2%.
Airports are also suffering. A spokesman for German airport company Fraport said the closure of Frankfurt airport alone could cost the company between 2.5 million and three million euros per day based on initial estimates.
In France, state-controlled airports operator Aeroports de Paris (ADP) faces losses of five million euros a day or more, analysts said.
"If the volcanic cloud continues to disrupt Paris airport operations for 48 hours then it will be impossible to win back the lost traffic," said a Paris-based analyst, who asked not to be identified.
"Then ADP could lose almost two days of revenue which is 10 million euros or 5 million euros a day," the analyst said.
ADP declined to comment.
About 17,000 flights were expected to be cancelled on Saturday because of the dangers posed by volcanic ash from Iceland, aviation officials said. Airports in Britain, France, Germany, and across Europe were closed until at least Sunday.
