11/05/2010

Flight Disruption Continues To Hit Travellers

There was limited volcanic ash disruption to flights to and from the UK today.

Scores of UK air passengers are still facing further delays caused by the volcanic ash cloud that has halted many European flights.

Flights to and from parts of Spain, Portugal, Morocco and the Canary Islands have been affected after the countries closed their airspace.

While British airports remain open, but both Ryanair and Easyjet said they had been forced to cancel dozens of flights.

The Irish Aviation Authority has said Ireland's airports can only remain open until around 1am tomorrow morning.

A spokesman from the Authority said this morning that the large volcanic ash cloud, which currently measures approximately 2,400 miles long and 1,300 miles wide, is still positioned over the Atlantic from Greenland to the Iberian peninsula.

"For the past number of days, North Atlantic routes have been North of Iceland and as far South as Santiago in Spain. The IAA expects an improvement today with routes available just North of Ireland. Continuing difficulties may be encountered with Iberian / Canary routes," the spokesman said.

He added: "The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre and the Central Flow Management Unit at Eurocontrol continue to furnish the Irish Aviation Authority with up-to-date information on the ash cloud. This enables the Authority to assess the impact it could have on air safety."

The authority is expected to provide further updates throughout the day.

The IAA added that passengers planning to travel by air over the coming days are advised to regularly check their airline websites and the IAA website in advance of going to the airport.

(DW/GK)

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