Volcanic ash grounds Irish flights until at least 1pm, Tuesday

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has informed Irish-based airlines that it will be imposing restriction on all flights in and out of Ireland from 0700hrs local until 1300hrs  Tuesday, 4^th May 2010.
This is due to risk of ash ingestion in aircraft engines. Ireland falls within the predicted area of ash concentrations that exceed acceptable engine manufacturer tolerance levels. See map attached.
The decision is based on the safety risks to crews and passengers as a result of the drift south of the volcanic ash cloud caused by the north easterly winds.
Current information from the Volcanic Ash Advice Centre (VAAC) suggests that a ‘no fly zone’ will have to be imposed over Ireland tomorrow that will affect Dublin, Shannon Galway, Sligo, Ireland West (knock), Donegal, Cork and Kerry.
No flights will operate in or out of these airports until at least 1300hrs local tomorrow
UPDATE: Aer Arann has cancelled its flights on Monday night from Dublin to City of Derry and Donegal airports. Tuesday morning’s flight from Donegal to Dublin has also been cancelled.
The following flights to and from Knock Airport  have been cancelled for tomorrow morning Tuesday May 4th 2010:

• RE220 from Ireland West Airport Knock to Dublin which was due to depart at 07:15am
• FR805 from London Stansted to Ireland West Airport Knock which was due to arrive at 07:45am
• FR806 from Ireland West Airport Knock to London Stansted which was due to depart at 08:10am
• FR2205 from Reus-Barcelona to Ireland West Airport Knock which was due to arrive at 08:30am
• FR2206 from Ireland West Airport Knock to Reus-Barcelona which was due to depart at 08:55am
• FR2451 from Faro to Ireland West Airport Knock which was due to arrive at 09:10am
• FR2452 from Ireland West Airport Knock to Faro which was due to depart at 09:35am

Information on our afternoon flights to and from London Gatwick, Liverpool, Leeds Bradford and Dublin will be published as soon as the information is made available.
Passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling for further information and to rebook affected flights:
Airline contact details are as follows:

• Aer Arann:     0818 210 210    /     www.aerarann.com
• Aer Lingus:   0818 365 000    /     www.aerlingus.com
• bmibaby:       1890 340 122    /     www.bmibaby.com
• Ryanair:         01 248 0856     /     www.ryanair.com