All British airspace is available for civil aviation since Thursday morning because the volcanic ash that closed some airspace on Wednesday has gone west of Britain.

The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said that after consultation with the Met Office and Civil Aviation Authority, it was agreed that from 7 a.m. (0600 GMT) Thursday all British airfields are available.

The NATS said the high density area of the volcanic ash cloud has moved west overnight, is now lying off the west of Ireland, and has cleared British airspace. As a result there are currently no restrictions within British airspace.

Some airspace over Scotland, Northern Ireland and northwest England were shut down on Wednesday because of this new wave of volcanic ash.

Flights over Europe were banned for six days last month because of fears of the effects of volcanic ash on jet engines, causing losses of billions of dollars to airlines.