Ireland, Volcanic Ash Cloud | featured news

The spread of dense ash from the erupting Iceland volcano could force the cancellation of up to 500 commercial flights in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of Scandinavia, the European air traffic agency said Tuesday.

Britain and the Netherlands shut or planned to close major airports because of volcanic ash from Iceland on Monday, threatening large-scale air traffic disruption in Europe at the start of the working week.

A mammoth cloud of ash is stretching 1,250 miles across the North Atlantic and forcing aircraft to divert south into a long-haul traffic jam, Irish and European air authorities said.

Airports in Ireland and parts of Britain were closed for hours on Tuesday because of a cloud of volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland that shut European airspace last month and could threaten summer holiday travel.

A no fly zone may have to be imposed over Ireland on Tuesday due to volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland, the Irish Aviation Authority said on Monday.