Ash cloud clogs northern U.K. skies

A dense cloud of volcanic ash drifting from Iceland has prompted officials to close airports in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

No flights were allowed to and fromthe Isle of Man on Sunday.All three airports inNorthern Ireland were closed to air traffic. The no-fly zone also includedManchester and Liverpool in northern England, as well as Prestwick in Scotland, the National Air Traffic Service said.

Britain's Department of Transportation has warned airspace inother parts of the country could close at different times over the next few days as the ash cloud continues to drift south.

London's airports, including Heathrow,were open Sunday but closed 1 a.m. local timeMonday and were expected to remain closed until at least 7 a.m.In the Republic of Ireland, officialsclosed Dublin airportearly Sunday evening.

The airports in Amsterdam and Rotterdam were closed as of 6 a.m., Dutch state television reported.

Ash spewing from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano severely limited European air traffic last month.

The gritty cloud, which officials worry can clog jet engines, forced the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights and left as many as 10 million passengers stranded for days.

Last weekend, the ash causedflightcancellations in Spain, Portugal, southern France, northern Switzerland, northern Italy,southern Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria.