Outlook bleak as Irish airspace closed until 11am at least

Irish airspace will remain closed until at least 11am tomorrow morning, it has been announced.

"The IAA can confirm that restrictions in Irish airspace will continue until 11am tomorrow at the earliest," said a statement from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).

"Based on the projections of the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, which tracks the movement of the volcanic ash, Irish airspace will be significantly affected until at least 11am tomorrow morning.

"The volcano is still active at present and the movement of the volcanic ash depends on the weather. The indicators are that the weather will remain unchanged for the next few days."

A new update is expected from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre this evening.

Flights in and out of Ireland could be grounded for several days after forecasters warned a massive plume of volcanic ash looks set to loom over the country for the next 72 hours.

Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Shannon were all affected amid fears the clouds of dangerous dust and ash could down a plane.

The IAA insisted Ireland was taking the same precautions as the UK, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland and Denmark after eruptions from the Icelandic mountain Eyjaffjalljokull.

Hundreds of travellers hurried from Dublin Airport opting for ferries across the Irish Sea while hundreds more queued at Ryanair and Aer Lingus ticket desks to rebook flights.

Aer Lingus said all UK and European flights from Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Belfast, London Gatwick and Heathrow up to 1pm have been cancelled.

All transatlantic services to the US are expected to operate with delays except one, the airline said.

A spokeswoman for Dublin Airport said she had never witnessed such an incident since her career began in the early 1980s.

“This is very much out of everyone’s control,” she said. “I’m in the airport 26 years and I’ve never come across this situation. It is highly unusual. It poses a serious threat to aircraft.

“I’m sure passengers will appreciate the seriousness of it and will not want to fly in unsafe conditions.”

Updates are planned later as the Government’s emergency planning taskforce - last convened during the big freeze over the new year – meets in central Dublin.

It warned that Irish Coast Guard operations along the east and south-east coasts were being grounded with a Naval Service vessel sent to patrol off Waterford in case of emergencies and local RNLI crews on standby.

Dublin and Waterford helicopter crews are on standby but restricted to daytime operations only, the Department of Transport said.

Rescue teams out of Shannon and Sligo will operate the normal 24-hour service but will steer clear of areas of risk along the east coast.

“It has been assessed that this will provide the best risk reduction to the aircraft while also maintaining the service as fully as possible,” the department said.

The IAA added “It is not safe for aircraft to fly into volcanic dust. The rock particles cause significant damage to the surface of the aircraft skin and the engine components.

“This dust can cause engines to shut down. The dust particles within a cloud of volcanic ash can also cause electrical faults.”

Despite fears over flights, experts assured people the ash, in tiny particles and difficult to detect, was no significant danger to public health.

Irish Ferries said the disruption has sparked unprecedented demand for sea travel from both foot passengers and motorists.

Declan Mescall, head of passenger sales, said the mid-afternoon Dublin Swift sailing to Holyhead was almost full.

“The phones were absolutely hopping off the desk,” he said.

“It’s mainly foot passengers because people haven’t had time to go out and get their car.

“Its just been a phenomenal increase in last-minute bookings, it’s just exceptional, anything like this level of activity within an hour of opening.”

Met Éireann said the settled and dry weather over Ireland would continue for the next 72 hours.

Head of forecasting Gerald Fleming said rain would help scatter the ash cloud’s particles – but predicted the country may not see a drop until next week.

“Even for it to be dispersed by wind and rain takes time,” he said.

“A good stiff westerly wind would help disperse it over Eastern Europe but that’s not the weather we have at the moment.”