The European Union presidency says it hopes some air traffic will resume Monday, easing the near-complete disruption of flights caused by volcanic ash from Iceland. The Spanish secretary of state for EU affairs, Diego Lopez Garrido, says weather forecasters predict skies will clear over parts of Europe Monday, allowing about 50 percent of flights to operate.

But Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands say their airspace will remain closed much of the day. A volcano in southeastern Iceland erupted Wednesday, sending a thick cloud of ash and dust into the air that cancelled most trans-Atlantic and European flights.

Volcanic ash contains glass and rocks that could cause jet engines to shut down in mid- flight. Major European airlines, including KLM, Lufthansa, and Air France, conducted test flights with no passengers Saturday and Sunday and reported no problems.

But meteorologists warned that unpredictable wind shifts were still making air travel too dangerous Sunday. Industry analysts say the airlines are losing about $200 million a day because of the canceled flights, which are also snarling plans for U.S. and Asian travelers.

Air Berlin chief Joachim Hunold criticized the airline shutdowns. He says the decisions were based only on computer models that show how much ash may be in the air.

German media quoted him Sunday as saying that no one has sent up weather balloons to take actual readings.