Airports closed as volcanic ash drifts toward UK

Tens of thousands of passengers across Britain and Europe were grounded today as airports closed or faced severe disruption from a plume of ash caused by a volcanic eruption in Iceland.

All non-emergency flights in the UK will be grounded from noon to six because the after-effects of the eruption have made flying too hazardous, air safety officials said.

All flights in and out of Scotland were stopped earlier today with other airports facing severe disruption until the blanket ban was announced. Denmark’s air space will close later this afternoon. Airports and airlines warned cancellations and delays were likely tomorrow and possibly longer as the ash continued to move south and east into northern Europe.

A spokesman for Nats (The National Air Traffic Service) said: “From midday today until at least 6pm, there will be no flights permitted in UK controlled airspace other than emergency situations.

Guardian.co.uk

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Tags: air safety, disruption, european flights, iceland volcano, northern europe, volcanic ash, volcanic eruption in iceland, volcano ash

Category: Iceland, Nature & Environment