New ash cloud grounds flights in Britain, Ireland

DUBLIN: Britain and Ireland grounded flights again on Wednesday after a fresh cloud of ash swept in from the Icelandic volcano which sparked unprecedented air travel chaos in Europe last month.

British regulators imposed a flight ban from Scottish and Northern Irish airports from 0600 GMT for 12 hours for most affected airports, warning that high ash levels could damage plane engines.

Irish authorities, who stopped flights for several hours on Tuesday, also closed airports progressively from 0600 GMT, while saying transatlantic and other planes could still fly over at higher altitudes.

"The volcano in Iceland has expelled denser, coarser ash higher into the atmosphere," said the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), adding that Dublin airport would remain closed until at least midnight (2300 GMT).

Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) added: "Forecasts show that levels of ash in the atmosphere over Scotland and Northern Ireland will exceed the concentrations that engine manufacturers have agreed are safe for operations."

While the flight ban would remain in place for the rest of Wednesday, the CAA said it hoped the restrictions could be lifted tomorrow.