By April MacIntyre May 16, 2010, 20:15 GMT
Richard Branson is furious over the UK airports closing once again after wind blew ash from the pesky Icelandic volcano towards the UK.
Businessman Richard Branson, of the United Kingdom, arrives for the Time 100 gala celebrating the magazine's issue on the 100 most influential people in the world at the Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York, New York, USA, on 04 May 2010. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
The Daily Mail reported that the closures could cause disruption for the next three days.
The British mogul lashed out at the move to close airports in Northern Ireland, northern England and the Midlands as a new 'high density' cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano approached.
Mr. Branson called on the Government to intervene as he insisted jets should still be allowed to fly.
"The closing of Manchester airspace once again is beyond a joke," he told the Mail. "All the test flights by airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers have shown no evidence that airlines could not continue to fly completely safety."
Branson added, "We need strong leadership to intervene to avoid doing further unnecessary damage to the UK economy and lives of travellers."
The Civil Aviation Authority said: 'They all agreed the way forward including his airline. We can't just say "It'll be all right, off you go". 'They have got to work out what their engines can handle. The way they do that is for the airlines and manufacturers to work together. The ball is in his and his engine manufacturer's court.'
A Department for Transport spokesman released this statement: 'The safety of passengers must be paramount. This new ash cloud contains concentrations of ash which safety regulators and aircraft manufacturers believe could be damaging to aircraft.
'The Civil Aviation Authority continues discussions with manufacturers, airlines and the research community over volcanic ash levels, but any further changes to guidelines would only be made if there were a consensus these were safe. 'Passengers should contact their airlines for further information about how their flight may be affected.'
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