The ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull has affected 12 flights to and from Malta, after its lingering after-effects last Sunday forced the closure of 15 airports in Spain.
Air Malta has cancelled four flights from Milan and Stuttgart, while Ryanair had to cancel six flights from Dublin, Edinburgh and Madrid. Vueling, the first airline to cancel Malta-bound flights last Sunday, has again cancelled its Barcelona flight to Malta.
A statement from the parliamentary secretariat for tourism said some 1,000 passengers have been affected, 700 of which are tourists.
A new photo from NASA shows the plume of ash rising out from Eyjafjallajökull has now reached a height of almost 20,000 feet. The photo was taken by Nasa’s Aqua satellite and shows the massive ash cloud moving over the North Atlantic ocean.
The ash started closing airports today in Portugal, Spain and even parts of Africa namely Morocco. The eruption that started on March 20, 2010 still continues to flow.
Volcanic ash from Iceland has forced aviation authorities to shut down airports in Spain and Morocco and close airspace over Turkey.
Morocco closed five airports for most of the morning, and flights around Istanbul were suspended for several hours. Previously the ash had affected only European airports.
Meteorologists say until the volcano in Iceland stops erupting, aviation in Europe will be heavily affected by how prevailing winds distribute the ash.
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