"Some of our trans-Atlantic flights between Europe and North America were being delayed and rerouted because of an ash cloud reappearing from the (Icelandic) volcano," the spokesman told Arab News.
He added that the national carrier had announced the cancellation of flights on Monday because of the cloud of volcanic ash over the Atlantic. “But we have reviewed the situation and are rerouting our flights," he said, without elaborating.
"The airline operates twice weekly flights, directly from Washington to Riyadh and New York to Jeddah, and we are operating them," he added.
The ash cloud wound its way south down to North Africa and curled over to Turkey on Tuesday, forcing authorities for the first time to shut down airports in Morocco and airspace over Turkey.
Eight airports in Morocco — among them Casablanca, Rabat-Sale, Tangiers, Tetouan, Agadir and Essaouira — were closed early Tuesday afternoon. Airports in Morocco, some 3,780 km from Iceland, were not affected last month when the April 14 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul Volcano forced at least a five-day suspension of air traffic in Europe.
The ash was also causing havoc Tuesday in nearby Spain, forcing airports to shut down in the Canary islands of Tenerife, La Palma and La Gomera, affecting dozens of tourist flights. On the Spanish mainland, airports at Seville and Jerez in the south and Badajoz in the east were closed.
Flights west and southwest of Istanbul were temporarily suspended for several hours Tuesday afternoon due to the ash cloud over Turkey's Thrace region west of Istanbul and the Dardanelles Strait, southwest of the city.
— With input from agencies
