New Ash Alert Closes Scotland, N.Ireland Airspace

World | May 5, 2010, Wednesday // 09:22
Bulgaria: New Ash Alert Closes Scotland, N.Ireland Airspace Some airspace over Northern Ireland and Scotland were set to close because of volcanic ash. Photo by Getty Images

Britain's Civil Aviation Authority announced that some airspace over Northern Ireland and Scotland would be closed Wednesday because ash emissions from Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull grew heavier and dipped further south.

Scottish airports in Glasgow, Prestwick, Inverness, Stornoway, Benbecula, Tiree, Islay, Barra and Campbeltown will close at 7 a.m. GMT (3 a.m. ET), along with the airport in Derry, Northern Ireland, the CAA said.

The Inverness airport will reopen at 1 p.m. GMT (9 a.m. ET), but Belfast City and Belfast International Airports will close at that time. All the airports are expected to reopen at 7 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET).

The CAA said that airports in Edinburgh and Carlisle, Scotland, and Blackpool, Liverpool and Manchester in England were expected to remain open. Ash is expected to be near those airports, however, and the authority recommended that passengers check with their airlines before arriving at the airport.

The Irish Aviation Authority had grounded all flights into and out of Ireland between 6 a.m. GMT and 12 p.m. GMT (2 a.m. and 8 a.m. ET) Tuesday because of ash.

European aviation officials closed airports across the continent for six days last month because of an ash cloud from the erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland.

The disruption to flights Tuesday came, as European Union transport ministers met in Brussels to discuss ways of improving coordination between member states in the event of another volcanic ash crisis.

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Tags: volcanic ash, flights

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