Thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled because of drifting ash from an Icelandic volcano.
About 500 flights were cancelled in Europe on Tuesday, air traffic management body Eurocontrol said.
Airports affected include Londonderry, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick, Durham Tees Valley, Newcastle and Carlisle, air traffic services company Nats said.
Flights from some airports in Scotland and northern England would be affected until 0100 BST on Wednesday, Nats said.
After the meeting, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said there was cautious optimism for the coming days and there should not be significant disruption for UK airports after Tuesday night.
He said the ash plume had decreased in height and intensity, and south-westerly winds were predicted for the next two days which would move the cloud away from the UK.
British Airways was talking to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to get permission to fly in higher density ash cloud zones in certain circumstances, he added.
Mr Hammond rejected claims by Irish carrier Ryanair that it would have been safe to continue flying.
"We're quite prepared to talk to airlines about ways in which we can improve the regime on the basis of a properly demonstrated safety case," he said.
"But we're not going to be bullied by airlines or by anybody else when our primary responsibility is the safety of aircraft in British airspace and passengers leaving British airports."
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