London, May 17: Knock-on disruption is expected for hours after airports reopen
Passengers using Britain’s two busiest airports are facing major disruption after the return to UK airspace of the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano.
Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports resumed limited flights after being completely closed until 0700 BST.
Flights are grounded in Northern Ireland and much of Scotland and Wales.
Passengers are being urged to check with their airlines before travelling. Restrictions are expected in parts of the UK until Tuesday.
A spokesman for air traffic authority Nats said Gatwick was due to be closed to arrivals until 1300 BST and departures would be subject to restrictions.
Eurocontrol, the European air safety body, said Heathrow arrivals would be limited to 30 an hour initially and it warned of significant delays.
A Nats spokesman said earlier that while Heathrow and Gatwick would be clear of the no-fly zone from 0700 BST, “restrictions will have to be applied due to their close proximity to the no-fly zone, particularly affecting Gatwick inbounds”.
The spokesman said: “Two key areas affect operations stretching from south England to Northern Ireland, and over much of mainland Scotland to the Shetland Isles.
“As a result, no-fly zones have been imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority in these areas, for the period 7am until 1pm.
“Airports within the no-fly zones include all those in Northern Ireland, Ronaldsway, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Northern Scotland. Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol and Farnborough are also in the no-fly zone.”
Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds Bradford airports have reopened after restrictions in the north were lifted.
Elsewhere, Birmingham, Norwich and East Midlands airports are open again, after suspending flights on Sunday.
Prestwick Airport is no longer in the no-fly zone, but a spokeswoman said it would not be receiving any flights until lunchtime.
Flights in and out of Dublin, in the Irish Republic, are also grounded until at least noon.
There are signs that the ash cloud is passing over the UK, as Dutch TV reported that airports in Amsterdam and Rotterdam were to close for at least eight hours from 0500 BST (0600 GMT).
The Department of Transport has warned restrictions are likely across different parts of the UK until at least Tuesday.
Network Rail has pledged to do everything possible to help stranded travellers make journeys by train.
Virgin Trains said 7,000 extra seats would be made available on Monday, mainly on routes between Birmingham and Glasgow and Edinburgh, and between London Euston and Glasgow.
Eurostar is also putting on extra services through the Channel Tunnel.
The latest dense patch of ash disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of people over the weekend, mainly in northern parts of the UK.
Airspace over Northern Ireland was the first to close on Saturday, then as the cloud moved south, Manchester closed at lunchtime on Sunday, with Birmingham following suit by teatime.
On Sunday, Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson called the closure of Manchester airport “beyond a joke”.
“All the test flights by airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers have shown no evidence that airlines could not continue to fly completely safely,” he said.
British Airways said airlines should be able to decide whether it was safe to fly, as the current approach was “overly restrictive”.
But Civil Aviation Authority chief executive Andrew Haines said: “We are all working flat out to keep flying safe whilst minimising disruption from the volcano.”
He added: “It’s the CAA’s job to ensure the public is kept safe by ensuring safety decisions are based on scientific and engineering evidence; we will not listen to those who effectively say, ‘Let’s suck it and see.'”
Ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has led to thousands of flights being delayed or cancelled across Europe since April.
—Agencies