European transportation ministers from countries affected by the ash a volcano in Iceland began spewing into the sky last week will meet onApril 19 by video conference in an effort to reopen closed airspace.

Spanish Secretary of State for E.U. Affairs Diego Lopez Garrido says the ash cloud over Europe is moving to the northeast, which could clear half of the air space over the continent.

But Britain, Germany and the Netherlands say their airspace will remain closed for much of April 19.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said it flew four planes in a normal pattern above 3,000 meters from Amsterdam to Dusseldorf on April 18. 

Lufthansa flew 10 empty planes from Frankfurt to Munich on Saturday without incident, and Air France flew several successful test flights.

Analysts say airlines are losing about US$200 million a day because of the European and trans-Atlantic shutdowns.

Air travel in Southern Europe - including Spain, southern Italy, Greece and Turkey - remains open.

The volcano in southeastern Iceland began erupting on April 14, for the second time in a month, after being dormant for nearly 200 years.