Volcanic ash closes airports in Europe

Thousands of air passengers face further flight disruption this weekend as a cloud of ash from the erupting volcano in Iceland drifts over western Europe.

A number of flights from the UK and Ireland to Spain, Portugal and France were grounded by the ash cloud today, while 15 Spanish airports were closed this morning and expected to remain shut until the early evening.

Ryanair said airspace over southern France could also be restricted.

At London Stansted today 25 Ryanair services to destinations including the Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal were cancelled, along with three easyJet flights.

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

A spokesman for Heathrow airport said that disruption there was minimal, with only a small number of flights going to La Coruña affected.

Ryanair put details of cancelled flights on its website including services from East Midlands, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Liverpool. It advised customers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport.

Northerly winds over the UK could bring ash back over Ireland and western Scotland tomorrow or later in the week.

Forecaster Victoria Kettley from MeteoGroup said: "We're seeing more of a northerly wind from tomorrow in Scotland and over the rest of the UK on Monday and Tuesday.

"It looks as if Ireland and western Scotland could be affected. The wind is northerly rather than north-westerly so it will not bring the ash right across the UK.

"If it was to go north-westerly it would bring it across the rest of the UK, but at the moment we're looking at more northerly winds."

Another higher level ash cloud is currently over the Atlantic causing westbound flights to re-route to avoid it.

A spokesman for Heathrow airport said transatlantic services suffered delays of 10 to 15 minutes to allow time to fly around the ash cloud.

He said disruption to European services was minimal, with only a small number of flights going to La Coruña in north-west Spain affected.

The disruption could continue into next week if northerly winds bring ash over western Scotland and Ireland.

Renewed activity in the Eyjafjallajokull volcano sent ash up to heights of 20,000 to 30,000 feet earlier this week, according to the Met Office.

The Civil Aviation Authority said the volcanic activity raised the threat of further flight delays and cancellations this summer, despite new regulations that permit flying through ash-contaminated airspace, where none was allowed previously.

The latest ash cloud breaches the new safety parameters set by aircraft engine manufacturers.

On Wednesday an area of low pressure over Iceland is expected to divert the ash cloud away from the UK.

There is lower level ash over Spain which is moving towards the south of France, but is expected to disperse over the next few days.

European airspace was shut for six days last month at a cost of more than £1bn to airlines.