British Airways Planes Depart for UK As Airspace Readies to Open

Joyous news from Europe: CNN and other sources are reporting that more than two dozen British Airways flights have taken off for London, hoping to be able to land despite restrictions on English airspace because of ash from a volcano in Iceland.

The flights come as the British Civil Aviation Authority announced that British airspace will reopen at 10 p.m. (5 p.m. ET), ending nearly a week of closure.

The airline hopes for a window of opportunity to land the planes at Heathrow or Gatwick airports, a company representative told CNN.

If the planes do touch down in London early Wednesday, they will be the first commercial airliners to do so since Thursday afternoon local time, according to BAA, the company that runs Heathrow.