Irish airspace was re-opened at 1pm today (4 May) following a six-hour closure caused by renewed fears of volcanic ash drifting over from Iceland.
All flights in and out of Ireland had been grounded after the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) concluded that the ash plume over the country posed a threat to aircraft engines.
Its decision followed April’s six-day closure of UK airspace, which left thousands stranded overseas and prompted accusations that regulators had overreacted.
IAA chief executive Eamon Brennan said sporadic disruption could continue for months as the the Eyjafjallajokull volcano continues to send a column of ash into the sky.
“The reason we have changed our advice is because the ash cloud has moved towards the south, down towards the Bay of Biscay,” he said in an interview with RTE radio.
Mr Brennan continued: “At the moment the volcano is more or less dormant but should it re-erupt again we’d be faced with this problem. We could be faced with this periodically during the summer.
“We are probably facing a summer of uncertainty due to this ash cloud.”
Ryanair had cancelled all flights to and from the Republic of Ireland, Belfast and Derry City up until 2pm today, while Aer Lingus resumed services shortly after 1pm. Just one transatlantic service from Ireland was cancelled due to the no-fly zone, with other flights being postponed.
Airspace over Scotland’s Outer Hebrides was also briefly closed on Tuesday, disrupting regional services operating out of Stornoway, Tiree, Barra and Benbecula airports.
