Britain closing Scottish, Northern Irish airspace Wednesday as Iceland’s volcanic ash returns

Britain closing Scottish, Northern Irish airspace

LONDON — Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority says it must close the airspace of Scotland and Northern Ireland at 7 a.m. (0600GMT) Wednesday because of dangerous levels of volcanic ash inbound from Iceland.

An Icelandic volcano has been erupting for three weeks straight, and shifting winds have brought the danger into Irish and British airspace for the first time in two weeks. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland shut down their air services for several hours Tuesday but reopened operations.

The authority warned Tuesday that wind patterns suggest that the ash cloud could force airports in England and Wales to shut down later Wednesday. It offered no time estimate for when Scottish and Northern Irish air services might reopen.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority says it must close the airspace of Scotland and Ireland at 7 a.m. (0600GMT) Wednesday because of dangerous levels of volcanic ash inbound from Iceland.

An Icelandic volcano has been erupting for three weeks straight, and shifting winds have brought the danger into Irish and British airspace for the first time in two weeks. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland shut down their air services for several hours Tuesday but reopened operations.

The authority warned Tuesday that wind patterns suggest that the ash cloud could force airports in England and Wales to shut down later Wednesday. It offered no time estimate for when Scottish and Northern Irish air services might reopen.