London : The spread of dense ash from the erupting Iceland volcano could force the cancellation of up to 500 commercial flights in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of Scandinavia, the European air traffic agency has said.
Between 200 and 250 flights had already been cancelled, Brian Flynn, head of network operations at Eurocontrol, said on Tuesday.
Britain's weather service said it appeared that ash from the Grimsvotn volcano had reached Scottish airspace and could affect other parts of the UK and Ireland later in the week.
"All the data we are receiving confirms our forecasts, that there is high-density ash over Scotland," Barry Grommett, a spokesman, said.
British Airways suspended all its flights for Tuesday morning between London and Scotland, while Dutch carrier KLM and Easyjet cancelled flights to and from Scotland and northern England at the same time.
Scottish regional airline Loganair cancelled 36 Scottish flights scheduled for Tuesday morning, as well as some flights to Birmingham and Belfast. It said its flights between Scottish islands would be unaffected.
Two other British regional airlines, Flybe and Eastern Airways, also cancelled flights to and from Scotland on Tuesday.
