PASSENGERS flying from Southampton Airport are being advised to check with their airline over any flight disruption after the closure of Britain’s airspace has been extended.

The Civil Aviation Authority's no-fly zone was extended at 1pm today, closing airports including Manchester, Liverpool, East Midlands and Prestwick due to a cloud of volcanic ash, the air traffic authority Nats said.

Parts of the airspace above Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland were already closed after wind blew ash from an erupting Icelandic volcano above the UK and more flights are set to be grounded as the cloud spreads to the south and east this afternoon.

Now the no-fly zone has been extended to include Manchester, Liverpool, Carlisle, Doncaster, Humberside and East Midlands airports, all airports in Northern Ireland and Scottish airports, including Prestwick.

The ash cloud is expected to lie over the London area by Tuesday, before drifting out of UK airspace by Wednesday, according to forecasters.

In a statement Southampton Airport said, “All of BAA's airports are open. The volcanic ash cloud coming from Iceland continues to cause occasional problems and passengers are therefore advised to check their airline website for the latest travel information.”

The Met Office stressed that the five-day forecasts, published on its website, could quickly change. Its charts will be updated every six hours.

A spokeswoman said the volcano had become more active but if its activity reduces the predictions would change.

She said the ash plume was currently reaching heights of up to 25,000 feet (7,620 metres) and winds blowing from the north west mean there is a risk of ash being blown into UK airspace.

The wind direction is expected to change in the middle of next week and will blow from the south west, taking ash away from the UK.