London's Heathrow airport said Tuesday it had reopened after a five-day airspace shutdown and a flight had arrived from Vancouver, AFP reported.
A spokesman said the airport -- the biggest and busiest in Europe -- reopened just before 10:00 pm (2100 GMT) after the British air safety watchdog announced a gradual lifting of flight restrictions.
"I can confirm Heathrow has now reopened, a first BA flight from Vancouver has landed," he said.
A British Airways spokeswoman confirmed that its flight BA84 from Canada had touched down just before 2100 GMT at the airport's Terminal 5. She said it was the first flight to land at the airport since it reopened.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced earlier that British airspace would be gradually reopened from 2100 GMT, after experts concluded that plane engines could withstand flying through the ash when the density was low.
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