Media

Having reviewed the latest reports from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in London the Irish Aviation Authority has confirmed that Irish Airports and Irish Airspace, with the exception of a block off the south coast, will continue to operate without restrictions. The situation will be reviewed again later this evening.

Airspace Status until further notive

The situation remains very serious throughout Europe. The majority of airspace and airports in the UK, France and Germany continue to have restrictions in place. The weather maps show the volcanic ash cloud situated over England and Wales and most of mainland Europe. So there will continue to be restrictions in those countries for at least the next 24 hours. This will mean that there will continue to be serious disruption for east bound and south bound traffic out of Irish airports.

Donie Mooney, the IAA Director of Operations warned "As long as the volcano is active our airspace continues to be at risk and we cannot rule out further restrictions if the weather patterns change and the ash cloud returns to Ireland. Safety will always be our first concern."

Passengers should visit the web sites of their airlines on a regular basis for updates.

The IAA will provide an update after 1900 on Friday, 16^th April 2010.

Ends

For further information contact:

David Curtin
Tel: 0862832123