Ash cloud air safety rules eased

A passenger at El Prat de Llobregat Airport in Barcelona, Spain

Scores of UK air passengers are facing further disruption from a volcanic ash cloud that has halted European flights.

Flights to and from parts of Spain, Portugal, Morocco and the Canary Islands have been affected after the countries closed their airspace.

British airports remain open, but both Ryanair and Easyjet said they had been forced to cancel dozens of flights.

Airlines and airports are urging passengers to check updated information before travelling to the airport.

London’s two main airports both reported a handful of cancellations – 14 arrivals and 10 departures at Gatwick, and seven arrivals and four departures at Heathrow.

A Gatwick spokesperson also said some transatlantic flights had been delayed by the ash.

Ryanair said it had cancelled flights to and from the Canary Islands, Faro and Madrid.

Flights to and from Granada, Jerez, Malaga, Seville and Tangier have also been cancelled.

Easyjet spokesman Andrew McConnell said the "vast majority" of its flights were operating normally.

Passengers travelling to and from Madrid, Faro, Funchal, Marrakesh and Tenerife should check their flight status before travelling, he said.

British airports operator BAA has also warned of delays to transatlantic services and cancellations by airlines.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are among the carriers whose passengers suffered long delays on Tuesday.

Last month, ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano shut down airspace across Europe for five days.

British tourism operator TUI Travel estimated the travel chaos caused by the volcanic ash cloud had cost the group £90m.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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