Branson erupts claiming closures 'beyond a joke'

Sir Richard Branson described the reimplementation of no-fly zones over Britain as “beyond a joke”.

The Virgin airline chief called for a halt to the restrictions, which were once again bringing major disruptions to travel to and from the UK.

Sir Richard told reporters there was no evidence that it was necessary to ground flights at major regional airports.

“The closure of Manchester airspace once again is beyond a joke. All the test flights by airlines and engine manufacturers have shown no evidence that airlines could not continue to fly completely safely,” Branson asserted.

“It is obviously dangerous to fl y through the mouth of a volcano. However, the volcano is hundreds of miles away from the UK.”

Flights from the Gulf to the airports were disrupted early this morning forcing the cancellation of early morning Emirates flights from Dubai.

Etihad also said that flights to and from London Heathrow and Dublin had been affected. The early morning Dublin flight on Monday was cancelled while there were long delays on the Heathrow route.

Five-day ash prediction charts forecast a cloud containing ash concentrations that exceed engine manufacturer tolerance levels will remain over parts of the UK throughout the day.