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New ash cloud closes Isle of Man Airport

06 May 2010 01:35 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Isle of Man Airport has closed after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) imposed a no-fly zone from 1300 BST as a result of the new volcanic ash cloud, APA reports quoting BBC.
The CAA said that the cloud was continuing to move south and had also forced the closure of airports in Belfast and Edinburgh.
It said it is liaising with the Met Office to determine the direction of the cloud and its impact on flights.
The thickest ash is predicted to be over the island at around 1800 BST.
A Ronaldsway airport spokeswoman said: "We’re all looking to see how aggressively that ash plume is moving around and at the moment it’s situated between surface level and 20,000 ft.
"With the wind changes that are now taking place we are looking at another bout of closures."
The CAA has recommended that all passengers check before leaving home to discover if their flight is operating.
Passenger figures for Isle of Man Airport for April are expected to be 25% down on last year as a result of the ash cloud disruption.
About 64 scheduled flights a day were affected during the worst period.