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Empresas y finanzas

UK flights disrupted by volcanic ash cloud


    LONDON (Reuters) - Flights in and out of Britain were disrupted on Thursday after a cloud of volcanic ash drifting across Britain from Iceland closed several airports, with flights canceled at London's Heathrow, Gatwick and other airports.

    There were no flights in or out of Scotland, with Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports all closed. Belfast airport in Northern Ireland and Newcastle airport in the north of England were also shut.

    A volcanic eruption in Iceland on Wednesday afternoon, the second in a month, spewed black smoke and white steam into the air from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier.

    The National Air Traffic Service said that following advice from the Met Office it had restricted the number of aircraft flying into British airspace.

    "Volcanic ash represents a significant safety threat to aircraft," it said in a statement.

    "We are monitoring the situation with the Met Office, Eurocontrol and neighboring countries, and working closely with the airlines to help inform their decisions about their operations."

    British budget airline easyJet said the plume of ash, which is expected to move south, was causing "significant disruption" to all airlines operating flights to and from Britain.

    Hundreds of flights in and out of other British airports, including Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, East Midlands and London's Stansted and Luton were canceled, although the airports remained open.

    (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Sharon Lindores)