The volcanic ash from Iceland traveled all the way down to North Africa and then made its way over to Turkey on Tuesday.

The inconvenience caused authorities to close down Casablanca airport in Morocco and also airports in Spain and airspace over Turkey.

The civil aviation authorities in Morocco said on Tuesday that in order provide passengers with maximum safety five airports would need to be closed down.  Casablanca, Rabat-Sale, Tangiers, Tetouan, and Essaouira were all closed down Tuesday afternoon.

Last month when the eruption first took place Morocco’s airports were not affected.

Airports were also closed on Tuesday in Spain due to the relentless ash, which affected dozens of tourist flights.

There were shut downs in the Canary Islands of Tenerife, La Palma and Gomera. Airports in Seville and Jerez were also closed.

Spain chose to keep restrictions on planes flying between 20,000 and 35,000 feet above the ground, which affected trans-Atlantic flights to and from other European countries. 

The ash caused about 20 Spanish airports to close over the weekend.

Flights west and southwest of Turkey’s capital were suspended momentarily on Tuesday afternoon because of the ash cloud.

Istanbul’s airports remained open but international flights from Europe were likely affected by the airspace closure.

About 29,000 flights were operating Tuesday in Europe, which is normal this time of year according to the Eurocontrol air traffic control agency based in Brussels.

According to meteorologists the volcano will continue to affect aviation in Europe until the volcano in southern Iceland stops erupting.

The last time the same volcano erupted, the consequences persisted from 1821 to 1823.

Source: USA TODAY