Thousands grounded as ash returns

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Micheál Martin was one of thousands of people whose travel plans were dashed by the return of volcanic ash clouds in Irish airspace.

Dublin Airport closed last evening, with the return of the ash plume from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

Cork, Shannon and Kerry airports will remain open for business and North Atlantic overflights through Irish-controlled airspace remain unaffected.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) closed Donegal until midday; Sligo until 9am; Galway until 6am and Knock will remain closed until 9am.

Dublin Airport was expected to remain closed until midday today when the density of ash in the atmosphere will be examined again.

Renewed activity of the volcano was continuing and the plume of ash was said to be reaching up to between 20,000 and 30,000 feet, the Icelandic Met Office reported.

Scientists said there were no signs that the eruption is about to end anytime soon.

Met Éireann forecasters said northwesterly winds were pushing a plume of volcanic ash southeastwards over Ireland.

However, a southwesterly airflow will become established over Ireland today and this “should gradually push the plume away from us to the north-east”. Met Éireann said the plume should clear from over Munster and Connacht by tonight.

“The mainly southwesterly airflow will persist through the rest of the week and should keep the ash away from Irish airspace,” the spokesman added.

Mr Martin had been scheduled to meet with British foreign secretary William Hague today in the first face-to-face talks between the Irish Government and the new British administration.

The two men had expected to hold a meeting on the fringes of the EU-Latin America summit in Madrid this afternoon, but the minister was forced to re-schedule his trip because of flight cancellations.

Yesterday, a specially adapted aircraft was calculating the density of volcanic ash over Irish airspace.

The IAA said it is using the most up-to-date data from the observation flight to decide on airport closures and flight restrictions.

Scheduled flights from Donegal, Sligo and Ireland West (Knock) were grounded from 7am yesterday.

Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Flybe are among the airlines which have warned of possible disruptions to services, including flight cancellations.

Passengers planning to travel by air over the coming days are advised to regularly check their airline websites before going to the airport.

Flights were cancelled at Northern Ireland airports and in Britain, restrictions were in place over the Midlands, northern England, Scotland and Wales.