Spain partly closes air space due to volcanic ash cloud

MADRID/HAMBURG - Spanish aviation authorities Saturday closed the air space over northern Spain as a cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland arrived in the region.

The airports of Santiago de Compostela, La Coruna, Vigo Asturias, Santander, Burgos, Valladolid, Salamanca and Leon were affected by the closure which was set to last until 2 p.m. (1200 GMT), the aviation authority AENA said.

The cloud of ash arrived overnight and is affecting part of Portugal as well.

According to the Meteorological Institute in London Saturday, the ash cloud could linger over northern Spain through Sunday and spread eastwards towards the Mediterranean region and Italy.

Friday, Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management reported that volcano under the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, 120 km south-east of Reykjavik, was again spewing increased amounts of ash.

In the preceding days the volcano was “producing less lava and more volcanic ash”, agency spokesman Agust Gunnar Gylfason said.