Scotland and Ireland Close Airports Over Volcanic Ash Again

As the European Union sought to streamline its response to contamination of its airspace, civil aviation authorities in Scotland and Ireland closed some airports for the second successive day on Wednesday because of volcanic ash drifting from Iceland.

Photo: Scotland and Ireland Close Airports Over Volcanic Ash Again

Transport ministers from the European Union agreed on Tuesday to speed up plans to unify control over the region’s airspace and to establish strict guidelines for when levels of contaminants such as volcanic ash in the atmosphere make it unsafe to fly, New York Times reports.

A CAA spokeswoman said: "Met Office forecasts show that levels of ash in the atmosphere over Scotland and Northern Ireland will exceed the concentrations that engine manufactures have agreed are safe for operations.

"The forecasts also show it is likely that the ash cloud will continue to move south, potentially affecting airports in the northwest of England and North Wales."

The CAA describes the situation as "very dynamic" and passengers expecting to travel from the impacted airports should contact their airlines to check whether their flight is operating, Sky News informs.