Iceland volcano ash interrupts air traffic

London - Ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland has led to the interruption of air traffic over Britain, media reports said Thursday.

Airport authorities closed down the airspace over Scotland, as ash drifted across the region from the volcano near the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, about 120 kilometers east of the capital Reykjavik, the Press Association reported.

"Following advice from the Met Office, the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) has introduced restrictions to UK airspace this morning as a result of volcanic ash drifting across the United Kingdom from Iceland," a spokeswoman for London's Stansted Airport said.

These measures currently affect Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, which are closed, but may also affect other parts of Britain later on Thursday, she added.

The decision followed similar measures taken in Iceland and Norway on Wednesday.

Officials in Reykjavik said that flight bans could also be expected in large parts of Sweden, Finland and regions in north-western Russia as well as in Denmark.

Some 700 people were ordered to leave their homes near the volcano following a series of tremors earlier this week. A plume of smoke and ash several kilometers high was spotted from the volcano, which had previously erupted last month.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/318807,iceland-volcano-ash-interrupts-air-traffic.html.