Britain's air travel nightmare worsened tonight as the Civil Aviation Authority extended its no-fly zone south to include airports in Birmingham and Norwich.

Ash cloud disruption to flights could last all summer as there are no signs that the eruption from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland is about to end.

All UK airports were open for business this morning after the volcanic ash cloud drifted away from British airspace.

Strong winds whipping in from the North Sea should disperse the volcanic ash cloud that has caused many UK flights to be cancelled this week, but it looks certain to delay more air passengers before it swirls into the Atlantic, forecasters said last night.

There was chaos and confusion at UK airports today as the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud wreaked yet more havoc with flight schedules.

Passenger planes are being checked for ash damage to their engines before every take-off and after every landing at UK airports as part of increased safety measures, the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) confirmed yesterday.

I searched the Evening Standard TV guide on Thursday to try to find details of the great election debate but there was nothing to say when it was on or on which channel you could watch it.

The capitulation, when finally it arrived, happened at breathtaking speed. At 8pm on Tuesday evening, when most of the skies over Europe had been declared safe despite the presence of tiny particles of volcanic ash, National Air Traffic Services (NATS) maintained it was unsafe to land at Britain's airports.

The RAF's Typhoon Eurofighters took to the skies again today after tests showed volcanic ash found in engines caused no damage.

The RAF has suspended Typhoon training flights after deposits of volcanic ash were found in the engines.

Thousands of Britons headed back to the UK today as airlines ran near-normal services again following the ash cloud crisis.

The suddenness with which the civil aviation authorities lifted the ban on aircraft flying through the cloud of volcanic ash which has been moving above these islands for the past week has raised concerns that the ban was too heavy-handed in its extent and degree. It is important that the authorities now make public the scientific considerations which led to the ban, and its lifting, but those Conservative politicians who are seeking to turn the matter into an election issue should demonstrate greater political maturity.