Flight restrictions imposed throughout Europe in response to the ash cloud from Iceland’s Grimsvotn volcano have now been lifted, RTE news reports.
There were fears that the ash cloud would cause significant disruption to flights for days to come but European air traffic agency Eurocontrol said it does not expect any significant disruption in Europe today and Irish airspace was given the all-clear.
However the Met Office warned that the UK will be covered by high-density ash at a jet’s cruising altitude of 35,000ft for several hours tomorrow afternoon.
Although this is not expected to affect UK airports, the cloud could spread to Southern Europe over the weekend, adversely affecting those hoping to get away for the bank holiday weekend.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said plans to have planes
fly beneath the ash level were being investigated. He said: “An under-flights policy is being looked at,
but there are serious operational problems to overcome”.
The Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland’s Vatnajokull National Park began erupting on Saturday. As the volcano’s biggest eruption since 1873 it so far hasn’t caused anywhere near the level of disruption as last year’s Eyjafjallajokull, which practically shut European and UK airpace for several days.
Flights cancelled due to ash cloud
