Ash cloud grounds flights again

A plume of ash rises from a volcano erupting under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, Iceland. More flights are cancelled as the ash cloud returns
12 April 2012

Air passengers face further disruption as flights are cancelled as clouds of volcanic ash force airports to close.

Ryanair said it expected airspace to be restricted over parts of Italy and Portugal and would cancel flights accordingly.

It also said it expected Knock airport, in Ireland, to be closed from 5pm.

Extra flights were being put on between Tenerife and London Stansted to cope with demand after flights were cancelled.

A statement on the Highlands & Islands Airports (HIAL) website said it expected Kirkwall and Inverness airports to be shut until 1pm and Benbecula and Stornoway to be closed until 7pm.

An ash cloud hanging over the Atlantic is causing westbound flights to re-route to avoid it. A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said transatlantic services were suffering delays of 10 to 15 minutes to allow time to fly around the ash cloud.

A number of flights from the UK and Ireland were grounded on Saturday as several Spanish airports closed.

London Stansted Airport saw the cancellation of 25 Ryanair services to destinations including the Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal, along with five easyJet flights.

At Gatwick, six easyJet services were grounded while another four Ryanair flights to Alicante, Madrid and Barcelona were cancelled.

Forecaster Rachel Vince, from MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "The volcano appears to still be erupting but there is a north-easterly wind between the UK and Iceland so the ash is being kept away from the British Isles. As the ash gets to a lower level it is being blown by a westerly wind towards southern Europe."

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