AIRSPACE OVER Northern Ireland and Scotland will be closed from 7am today due to Icelandic volcanic ash.
A decision on Irish airspace will be made early today following weather reports.
Flights resumed at 1pm yesterday after a six-hour closure, caused by a return of the ash cloud.
The Irish Aviation Authority had intended to keep airspace open until at least 1pm today but was last night reconsidering that decision following the closure of Northern Ireland airports by the British Civil Aviation Authority.
The CAA closed airspace over the North and Scotland from 7am today following British Met Office forecasts that showed levels of ash exceeded the concentrations that engine manufacturers have agreed are safe for operations.
The cloud will likely continue to move south, potentially affecting airports in the northwest of England and north Wales today, the British authority said.
Met Éireann said yesterday the winds were due to change direction late tomorrow and the threat from the cloud is due to recede over the weekend.
However mid-range forecasts from Met Éireann show that northwesterly winds will return next week bringing a renewed threat of disruption.
Chief executive of the Irish Aviation Authority Eamon Brennan said disruptions were likely on a periodic basis through the coming month.
“We are probably facing a summer of uncertainty due to this ash cloud.”
More than 200 flights were cancelled yesterday as a result of the closure of Irish airspace between 7am and 1pm by the Irish authority. Up to 30,000 passengers were affected by the disruption which hit all of the country’s airports.
Met Éireann forecaster Evelyn Cusack said a high-pressure system over the Atlantic, drawing winds from Iceland, would remain in place until tomorrow evening.
While the risk of flight disruption over the weekend would be low, there would be a renewed threat next week as the northwest winds returned.
“Met Éireann, along with other European countries pool our national resources into the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting.
The super-computer can predict up to about 10 days in advance and it is showing a return of northwesterly winds, a strong northwesterly next week,” Ms Cusack said.
The effect of the winds on flights today, tomorrow and into next week depends on the concentration of ash in the atmosphere.