Finland, Austria re-open airspace as others still maintain restriction

The temporary re-opening was announced by the country's airport operator Finavia.

Elsewhere, Austria also re-opened its airspace after the ash cloud had forced the closure last week.

Takeoffs and landings will be allowed starting at 17:00 (0300 GMT) on Monday but the Vienna International Airport website indicated that many of the flights still remain canceled after Austria's civil aviation authority Austro Control imposed the airspace restriction on Friday last week.

Germany and other countries in Europe still keep their airspaces closed to flights despite the move by Finland and Austria.

The air safety agency, however, allowed six German international airports to re-open for limited hours on Sunday.

Volcanic ashes from Iceland, carried by winds, have spread across the skies of most Europe, forcing grounding of most civil aviation flights and closing-down of airspaces; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.news.xinhuanet.com for full version.