Richard Branson accuses air trade officials of overreaction More ash intrusion approaching as British Airways set upon looms

Footage of the eruption, to be screened on the Discovery channel, sixteen May from 10pm

Flights have been cancelled opposite large tools of Britain currently since of a "rapidly encroaching" volcanic ash clouded cover that threatens serve intrusion for travellers forward of a programmed British Airways strike.

Air trade controllers imposed a no-fly section in the north of Britain, together with Manchester, Liverpool, Carlisle, Doncaster, Humberside and East Midlands airports, all airports in Northern Ireland and a little Scottish airports, until at slightest 7pm.

This afternoon the section was lengthened to Birmingham and Norwich, where airports will close from 7pm.

Irish authorities pronounced Dublin airfield would close from 7pm until at slightest 9am. Donegal, Sligo and Ireland West (Knock) airports would sojourn sealed until 11am tomorrow.

The National Air Traffic Services (Nats) warned that airports in the south-east could be influenced tomorrow, and that the hazard from the clouded cover would last until at slightest Tuesday – when British Airways employees are scheduled to go on strike.

Nats pronounced this sunrise that a high-density volcanic ash clouded cover was fast encroaching on Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, ensuing in a no-fly section over tools of Northern Ireland. The section was after lengthened as the clouded cover changed closer.

The ride secretary, Philip Hammond, urged all travellers to phone airlines or airports to check on the becoming different situation, and the Meteorological Office put the five-day ash clouded cover forecasts online.

Some airlines reacted in a huff to today"s move, with Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic job the closure of Manchester airfield "beyond a joke". He indicted air trade chiefs of overreaction and called on the supervision to meddle to "avoid you do serve nonessential repairs to the UK economy and lives of travellers".

Test flights by airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers had shown no justification that airlines could not go on to fly utterly safely, he said.

"It is patently dangerous to fly by the mouth of a volcano as has been demonstrated time and time again on radio by what happened to the BA craft [a moody that roughly crashed in 1982]. However the volcano is hundreds of miles afar from the UK.

"Over 1,000 flights took off from France last week in identical conditions to that that exist in Manchester currently but occurrence any problems or display any levels of ash concentration. We need clever care to intervene."

Forecasters and Nats design a shift in breeze citation to take the ash spewing from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano afar from Britain, nonetheless this could shift if the power of eruptions increases. As things stand, the clouded cover is approaching to distortion over London tomorrow prior to flapping out of UK airspace on Wednesday.

The supervision pronounced at the week finish that it would meddle in the BA brawl in a bid to turn aside a array of strikes by cabin crew. Members of the Unite kinship are due to set upon from Tuesday to Saturday, and afterwards from 24-28 May, thirty May-3 Jun and 5-9 June. The last set upon is due to finish dual days prior to the begin of the World Cup in South Africa.