Ash cloud closes Heathrow, Gatwick airports again

LONDON - Britain’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports as well as others in northern Britain, Scotland and Ireland will be closed during the early Monday hours due to volcanic ash from Iceland, British officials said.

Britain’s air traffic security system NATS said the airports would be closed from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m.

On Sunday, airports in Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds, and airports in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, were closed. Dublin airport was also affected.

On Wednesday, the European agency for air safety, Eurocontrol, said disruptions to air traffic linked to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland appeared to be over.

The ash comes from a volcano in Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, which started erupting in March. In mid April, the continuing ash cloud started disrupting flights in and out of Europe, causing major economic and logistical havoc.

Periodic airport closures across Europe have continued since mid April.