Geo 436 LONDON: Britain extended a ban on most non-emergency flights in its airspace by six hours to 1800 GMT Friday due to ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland, air traffic authorities said. The National Air Traffic Services (NATS), which manages British airspace, said “restrictions will remain in place in UK-controlled airspace until 1900 (UK time) today, Friday 16 April, at the earliest.” NATS grounded flights over Britain at 1100 GMT Thursday. Flights between Northern Ireland and the west coast of Scotland as well transatlantic flights to those parts of Britain, might be allowed up to 1200 GMT Friday, said the air traffic control service. “We continue to work closely with airports, airlines, and the rest of Europe to understand and mitigate the implications of the volcanic eruption,” added the air authority. Scottish airports were the first to ground flights following Wednesday’’s eruption of the volcano under Iceland’’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier. The volcanic ash has spread across northern Europe, cancelling thousands of flights and closing airspace in Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Half of all flights between North America and Europe are expected to be cancelled on Friday due to the ash, according to Eurocontrol, the agency that coordinates flights in Europe. There are an average of 600 flights between Europe and North America a day, it added.
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