Flights land in U.K. as airports reopen across Europe

LONDON (AP) - Europe's busiest airport reopened Tuesday as air traffic across the continent lurched back to life. But the gridlock created by Iceland's volcanic ash plume was far from over: Officials said it would be weeks before all stranded travelers can be brought home.

Passengers wept with relief as flights took off from Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, Amsterdam and elsewhere. A jetliner from Vancouver, British Columbia, was the first to land at London's Heathrow airport, the continent's busiest, since the volcano erupted last week.

British Airways said it hoped 24 other flights from the United States, Africa and Asia would land at Heathrow later in the day.

Travelers cheered as the first flights took off.

Jenny Lynn Cohen, waiting at Charles de Gaulle to travel to San Francisco, had a boarding pass but could hardly believe she was going to fly.