Manchester and Liverpool Airports Will Be Closed Today

In Manchester and Liverpool, airports will be closed today. A large cloud of ash from the Iceland volcano has moved east over england. British air traffic controllers have decided that travel from these airports would be to dangerous. The airports in London were not affected, however.

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Also, the airport in Dublin, Ireland will be closed overnight, the Irish Aviation Authority announced this afternoon.

The airport will shut down from 7 P.M. local time (2 P.M. ET) until at least 9 A.M. (4 A.M.), the agency announced. This will not, however affect international flights through Irish airspace.

"But Waterford airport will close at 11 p.m. (6 p.m.) and four other Irish airports remain closed. Shannon, Cork and Kerry airports are open." CNN reports.

Also, flights were stopped at all airports in Northern Ireland, as well as the British airports in Ronaldsway, Prestwick, Carlisle, Doncaster, Humberside, Leeds Bradford and East Midlands.

According to CNN, "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."

British Airways said that they would notify passengers of potential flight disruptions on their website.

"The government is carefully monitoring this situation and the safety of passengers will remain our paramount concern," said UK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.

There is a possibility of some of the ash cloud disrupting flights over the southeast of England but it is too early to tell if this might affect Heathrow or Gatwick yet.

The volcanic ash had forced the closing of Iceland's main airport on Friday but it reopened at midnight that day. It operated normally on Saturday.

Volcanic ash can be a very serious aircraft hazard. It can reduce visibility and damage flight controls. Also, it can cause jet engines to fail. This is why whenever there is an ash cloud the airports have to close.

The good news is, that British ministers agreed on Saturday to make five-day ash-prediction charts available to the airlines and other transport providers.

According to CNN, "Previously, only 18-hour forecasts had been available."