CAA relaxes ash cloud rules

13/05/2010

By Nick Jones

Changes in the safety rules that caused cancelled and delayed flights during the Icelandic eruption will allow more aircraft to take to the skies, it has been reported.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), pilots will no longer have to adhere to a 69-mile no-fly buffer zone around dense ash clouds, allowing more flights to take off and land in the UK.

The organisation stated that the rules were relaxed after comprehensive research carried out in collaboration with the Irish Aviation Authority.

A CAA spokesman said that planes could safely fly through airspace with "very small amounts of volcanic ash at acceptable levels".

"This will reduce the impact of volcanic ash on airports and ease some restrictions on flight operations, enabling more flights to resume," he added.

However, ash clouds continue to affect flights in Europe, with areas of Morocco, Portugal, Spain and the Canary Islands being forced to close airspace.

It was recently reported by BAA that London Heathrow Airport saw passenger numbers drop by more than 20 per cent in April compared with the previous year due to the volcanic eruption.