Iceland ash crisis accelerates work on seamless EU sky

BRUSSELS - The European Union speeded up a sweeping reform of its air control management system Friday, responding to the crisis that turned much of the continent into a no-fly zone after a volcanic eruption in Iceland.

"The worst is now over, but there is a huge amount of work to be done to deal with crisis management," said EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas.

Europe's airspace on Friday was almost completely free of any remnants of the volcanic ash cloud that caused massive disruptions during the past week. Eurocontrol, the air traffic agency, said the ash cloud was restricted to an area between Iceland and the northwestern tip of Scotland, where the small airports at Kirkwall, Wick, Inverness and Stornoway were closed.