Closures of French airports extended

Updated at: 0200 PST, Saturday, April 17, 2010
PARIS: Airports in Paris were closed until at least 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) Saturday because of a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, the French aviation authority said.

The DGAC civil aviation authority also announced the closures of several smaller airports.

Thousands of extra passengers meanwhile swamped Eurostar's Paris to London high-speed train services on Friday, the eve of school holidays in many parts of France, while a rail strike disrupted some national services.

Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, France's main international hub, and two other airports in the capital will remain closed until 1200 GMT on Saturday, said a DGAC statement, extending the previous closure order by six hours.

Airports north of a line running from Brittany in the northwest to Strasbourg on the border with Germany were also to remain shut.

Some planes were allowed to land at Charles de Gaulle and the other main Paris airport Orly, up until 1600 GMT on Friday to enable some passengers who had been blocked there to travel, the authority added.

The latest closures took to 35 the number of airports in France either closed or due to be closed on Saturday.

At Charles de Gaulle passengers slept on the benches of cafes or gathered in confused groups.

"We haven't had any news since last night," said Elisabeth Lindley, trying to get back to Manchester, England.