Spanish airports reopen as ash cloud moves north

(AFP PHOTO BELGA PHOTO JULIEN WARNAND)

Spanish air traffic control authorities have now reopened airports on the Canary Islands, as travel disruption from the volcanic ash cloud continues.

Tenerife North, Tenerife South and La Gomera airports were reopened May 11, along with Badajoz on the mainland, after an earlier closure.

The mainland airports of La Palma, Seville and Jerez remain closed.

Morocco has also shut five airports - Casablanca, Rabat-Sale, Tangiers, Tetouan and Essaouira - as a precaution, and some airspace over Turkey has also been closed.

No-fly zones are still in place for certain altitudes above Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with European air traffic control organization Eurocontrol warning that the "higher ash concentration could move in a north-easterly direction cutting across the Iberian Peninsula and into south east France."

However, this ash is at a high altitude and is not expected to close airports.
Transatlantic flights are still facing significant delays due to rerouting of aircraft to avoid the ash.

More information:

Irish Aviation Authority http://www.iaa.ie
National Air Traffic Services http://www.nats.co.uk/
Eurocontrol http://www.eurocontrol.int/
Met Office Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/