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New wave of volcanic ash chokes air traffic in Scotland, Ireland
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DUBLIN - A new wave of dense volcanic ash from Iceland snarled air traffic Wednesday in Ireland and Scotland, stranding tens of thousands of people and threatening to spill into the air space of England.
Ireland's key hub, Dublin Airport, admitted defeat for the day and cancelled all flights until 4 a.m. Thursday, marooning more than 30,000 passengers in the process.
More than a dozen other airports throughout the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland shut down, too, as unseasonal winds pushed the engine-wrecking ash southwest back toward the Atlantic rather than northeast into the unpopulated Arctic.
The renewed volcanic-ash threat in the skies of Britain and Ireland this week, following a two-week lull, has tested the more precise safety rules adopted by European aviation authorities following the unprecedented April 14-20 closure of most northern European airspace.
Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said Wednesday's ash threat might reach northwestern England and Wales but would miss the four major airports of London.
Authorities are seeking to stop flights only when the ash reaches certain density levels and gets within 100 kilometres of an airport's path for landings and takeoffs — a stark contrast to last month's closures of air services throughout several countries.
In Scotland, Glasgow Airport shut immediately Wednesday but its eastern neighbour, Edinburgh, stayed open until midday — though most airlines cancelled services there anyway amid widespread confusion.
The Irish Aviation Authority said Dublin should be the country's first airport to reopen.
The rapidly changing situation obliged would-be fliers to hop on trains, buses and taxis to reach nearby airports. Virgin Trains also launched extra services Wednesday between Scotland and London.
Market-leading airline Ryanair sought to discourage the passengers' dashing from airport to airport by announcing blanket closures Wednesday for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Dublin.
Ryanair also warned customers planning to fly out of several airports in the west and north of England — Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle — to check the company's website and remain alert for possible closure announcements.
But Scotland's leader, First Minister Alex Salmond, slammed the Civil Aviation Authority for issuing a vague, inaccurate statement overnight that resulted in unnecessary flight cancellations in eastern Scotland, including Edinburgh and Aberdeen. He said the CAA had apologized to him.
"That can't be allowed to happen again. ... Press statements must be clear and not cause confusion," Salmond said.
Aviation chiefs in Ireland and Britain said they were updating their closures and reopenings within minutes of receiving updated ash maps every six hours from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in England.
Donie Mooney, operations director at the Irish Aviation Authority, said the volcano's emissions changed over the past few days and caught forecasters off guard, forcing Ireland to abandon its hopes of staying open Wednesday.
"The ash plume has been going higher and the ash is of a coarser nature. That threw our projected opening times into some disarray," he said.
[link to etoilepa.jminforme.ca]
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