Paris: Aviation authorities closed airspace over Ireland, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland on Tuesday as a new cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland revived memories of the devastating shutdown of Europe's skies last month.
Initially, at least, the closure seemed far more limited than the six-day disruption that spread chaos across the globe, with flights canceled from Sydney to New York, as a layer of fine, high-altitude ash forced the closure of many of Europe's busiest airports, including those of London, Paris and Frankfurt.
Around 100,000 flights were canceled, and the shutdown cost airlines between $ 2 billion and $ 3 billion.
The British Civil Aviation Authority said no-fly zones were in force over Scotland's remote Outer Hebrides, and the airspace over Northern Ireland was closed from 0600 GMT on Tuesday because concentrations of volcanic ash exceeded the levels that airplane engine manufacturers regard as safe.
But Britain's National Air Traffic Service said flights over mainland Scotland were not immediately affected.
The particulate ash is dangerous for airplanes because it can damage jet engines. Airports in Belfast and Derry will be closed in Northern Ireland, while the Irish Aviation Authority said all flights in and out of Ireland from early morning to midday would be grounded.
''The decision is based on the safety risks to crews and passengers as a result of the drift south of the volcanic ash cloud caused by the northeasterly winds," the Irish authority said.
The ash was said to be at a low enough level to permit continued overflights by planes crossing Irish airspace at higher altitudes from the Atlantic to and from mainland Britain and continental Europe.
But for several hours the flight ban could mean that the entire Irish landmass could be cut off except for ferries from its seaports. Thousands of passengers were stranded as airlines including Aer Lingus and low-cost Ryanair canceled flights.
The disruption on Tuesday spilled into Britain's national election campaign, the BBC reported, upsetting plans by David Cameron, the leader of the opposition Conservatives, to fly to Northern Ireland.
Amsterdam's main airport listed flights to Dublin as canceled for most of Tuesday. In Germany, aviation authorities said there were no immediate plans to close German airspace.
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