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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| NI flights halted over ash threat | NI flights halted over ash threat |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Passengers due to travel from Northern Ireland's airports face disruption because of a volcanic ash cloud. | Passengers due to travel from Northern Ireland's airports face disruption because of a volcanic ash cloud. |
| A volcano eruption in Iceland sent the cloud of ash into the sky. | |
| All flights in and out of Belfast City Airport have been cancelled while the vast majority have been halted at Belfast International Airport. | |
| Dublin Airport passengers face delays and many flights have been cancelled. All passengers have been advised to contact their airlines prior to travel. | Dublin Airport passengers face delays and many flights have been cancelled. All passengers have been advised to contact their airlines prior to travel. |
| Belfast International Airport spokesman Uel Hoey said a number of flights to southern Europe and Egypt were departing as scheduled. | |
| "It's the airlines' choice at the moment whether to cancel flights, and our advice to passengers would be to check with your airline before coming to the airport - this is fairly unprecedented," he said. | |
| The Air Traffic Control Service, NATS, said the decision to restrict flights had been made after advice from the Met Office as volcanic ash can damage aircraft engines. | The Air Traffic Control Service, NATS, said the decision to restrict flights had been made after advice from the Met Office as volcanic ash can damage aircraft engines. |
| The eruption under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajoekull area of Iceland is the second in the country in less than a month. | The eruption under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajoekull area of Iceland is the second in the country in less than a month. |
| The ash cloud has been moving south, and forecasters believe the ash could take a number of days to disperse. | |
| Philip Avery from the Met Office said: "It is showing up on imagery at the moment, extending down as far as the Faroes but it looks as though the wind will drag it a good deal further south. | Philip Avery from the Met Office said: "It is showing up on imagery at the moment, extending down as far as the Faroes but it looks as though the wind will drag it a good deal further south. |
| "Nats has good cause to be very cautious about this because in about 1982 a British Airways jumbo had the unnerving experience of having all four engines shut down as it flew through a plume of volcanic ash." | "Nats has good cause to be very cautious about this because in about 1982 a British Airways jumbo had the unnerving experience of having all four engines shut down as it flew through a plume of volcanic ash." |
| A Nats spokesman said: "The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre has issued a forecast that the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland will track over Europe tonight. | A Nats spokesman said: "The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre has issued a forecast that the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland will track over Europe tonight. |
| "Nats is working with Eurocontrol and our colleagues in Europe's other air navigation service providers to take the appropriate action to ensure safety in accordance with international aviation policy." | "Nats is working with Eurocontrol and our colleagues in Europe's other air navigation service providers to take the appropriate action to ensure safety in accordance with international aviation policy." |