Iceland volcano ash to close main Dutch airports

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THE HAGUE, May 17 (AFP): Ash clouds from the Icelandic volcano have forced the closure of Schiphol Amsterdam and Rotterdam airports from 6:00 am (0400 GMT) to 2:00 pm Monday, the Dutch aviation officials have announced.
The decision had been based on information from the Dutch meteorological service, Marjolein Wenting, a spokeswoman for the Dutch air traffic control, service, told the news agency.
The Netherlands joined airports in Britain and Ireland, which have also been forced to close down because of the latest clouds of ash, provoked by a surge in activity from Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano.
Dutch airports were among those closed when much of European airspace was closed for up to a week in April following the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano.
It was the biggest shutdown of the continent's airspace for more than 50 years.
Meanwhile, CNN from London: Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London, England, reopened Monday morning after being closed overnight because of an ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland, but travel remained severely disrupted after the six-hour closure, both airports said.
Gatwick is not accepting incoming flights until 1:00 pm local time (8:00 am ET), the airport's website said.
Heathrow -- one of the world's busiest airports -- says "delays and cancellations are likely due to restrictions" put in place by air traffic controllers overnight, and urged travelers to check with their airlines before coming to the airport.
Britain's Civil Aviation Authority has left in place no-fly zones over all of Northern Ireland, airports in Scotland including Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness, and Cardiff in Wales, among others.
Amsterdam's Schipol Airport announced it would be closed Monday from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm (midnight Sunday to 8:00 am ET), according to an airport spokeswoman, who said officials were waiting on guidance from air authorities to decide when flights will resume.
Birmingham, Norwich Manchester and Liverpool airports were closed on Sunday evening, controllers announced.
In addition, Dublin's airport closed overnight, the Irish Aviation Authority said Sunday, and will remain closed until at least 9:00 am (4:00 am) Monday. International flights through Irish airspace will not be affected, it said.
Waterford airport was set to close at 11 pm (6:00 pm) and four other Irish airports remain closed. Shannon, Cork and Kerry airports are open.
Flights were also stopped at all airports in Northern Ireland, as well as the British airports at Ronaldsway, Prestwick, Carlisle, Doncaster, Humberside, Leeds Bradford and East Midlands.
Some Scottish island airports also shut down, including Campbeltown, Islay and Barra, the air traffic control agency NATS announced. And if the volcano continues to erupt at current levels and weather conditions prevail, air travel in Britain could be disrupted between Sunday and Tuesday.
"The government is carefully monitoring this situation and the safety of passengers will remain our paramount concern," said Philip Hammond, transport secretary.
The department said predictions remain fluid, urging passengers to check with airlines before taking any action. British Airways said it would notify passengers of potential disruptions on its website.
"There is a distinct possibility of some disruption from the ash cloud over the southeast of England, but it is too early to tell if this will extend as far as Heathrow or Gatwick yet," a BA spokesman told CNN.
Volcanic ash had forced the closing of Iceland's main airport Friday but it reopened at midnight and operated normally on Saturday.
Earlier in the week, traffic was shut down in airports from central Spain to the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa.
The problems began in mid-April, when the volcano beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland erupted and sent a cloud of ash into the atmosphere, disrupting international travel for several days.
There's no way to know how long the volcano will continue spewing ash into the air, Georgia Tech scientist Josef Dufek told CNN.
"It could go on another year," he said, noting that an eruption lasted that long in 1820.
Volcanic ash can be a serious hazard to aircraft, reducing visibility, damaging flight controls and ultimately causing jet engines to fail.
British ministers agreed Saturday that five-day ash-prediction charts would now be made available to airlines, other transport providers and the public on the Met Office website. Previously, only 18-hour forecasts had been available.