The UK's National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has tonight confirmed London's two main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, will be closed until at least 7am Monday morning as airports in Northern Britain are allowed to reopen.
In addition, London City Airport will also be affected although London Stansted has confirmed it is to remain open.
A NATS statement issued at 22:45 on Sunday, confirmed: “For the period 0100 (local time) until 0700 tomorrow (Monday), airports inside the no-fly zone as imposed by the CAA, include; London Heathrow, Gatwick, Farnborough, London City, Shoreham, Biggin Hill, all airfields in Northern Ireland, Scottish Western Isles, Oban, Campbeltown, Caernarfon and Aberdeen. Cardiff remains open but operations may be limited due to close proximity of the no-fly zone.”
A spokesman for Manchester Airport, said tonight: “The CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) has confirmed that airspace across Northern Britain will reopen at 01:00 tomorrow (Monday 17 May).
“The lifting of today’s airspace restrictions applies until 07:00 by which time the forecasts for the day ahead will allow the authorities to provide a further update for passengers.
“Manchester Airport will therefore reopen from 01:00 on Monday 17 May 2010 and remain operational unless there is a further deterioration in conditions.
“It is absolutely essential that people contact their airline before travelling to the airport for any flight because there are still high levels of ash contamination above parts of Britain which may bring further disruption.
“There is absolutely no official suggestion or predication that the prolonged, continent-wide airspace restrictions experienced in April are about to occur again.
“We would once again like to thank passengers for their continued patience and understanding since this situation began yesterday.”
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