From: Reuters
Published April 15, 2010 05:46 AM
Volcanic ash disrupts northern Europe air traffic
Air traffic in much of northern Europe was halted Thursday by ash
from a volcanic eruption in Iceland, aviation authorities said.
"Due to ash, air traffic on the sea area between Scotland, Norway,
northern Sweden, Britain, Norway and northern Finland is being limited,"
Finland's airport agency Finavia said.
A volcanic eruption in Iceland spewed black smoke and white steam into
the air Wednesday..
Britain's National Air Traffic Service said that following advice from
the Met Office weather service it had restricted the number of aircraft
flying into British airspace.
"Volcanic ash represents a significant safety threat to aircraft," it
said in a statement.
"We are monitoring the situation with the Met Office, Eurocontrol and
neighboring countries, and working closely with the airlines to help
inform their decisions about their operations."
Flights at London's Heathrow, Gatwick and other airports were canceled
and there were no flights in or out of Scotland, with Aberdeen,
Edinburgh and Glasgow airports all closed.
Belfast airport in Northern Ireland and Newcastle airport in the north
of England also were shut.
British budget airline easyJet said the plume of ash, which is expected
to move south, was causing "significant disruption" to all airlines
operating flights to and from Britain.
Hundreds of flights in and out of other British airports, including
Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, East Midlands and London's Stansted and
Luton were canceled, although the airports remained open.
Finnair said air traffic had been shut down in northern parts of
Finland.
Norwegian news agency NTB said air space in northern Russia, parts of
the United Kingdom and Denmark also could be affected.
National broadcaster NRK quoted an Avinor spokesman as saying it was
considering closing down the remaining routes.
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