Chaos as Spanish airports SHUT DOWN over fears out-of-control 21-ton Chinese rocket plummeting to Earth may smash plane

SEVERAL Spanish airports have closed their airspace because of an out-of-control 21-ton Chinese rocket plummeting to Earth that may smash a plane. Flights into and and out of Barcelona, Tarragona, Ibiza and Reus are known to have been grounded with reports other regions including La Rioja and Castilla and Leon have also shut operations. GettySeveral Spanish airports were forced to close due to an out-of-control Chinese rocket[/caption] GettyLong March-5B Y4 rocket carrying China’s lab module Mengtian as it launched on Monday[/caption] The measure is expected to last around 40 minutes, although local reports are pointing to the possibility places like Ibiza could be affected for up to three hours. A spokesman for Catalonia’s Civil Protection Agency confirmed: “Due to the risk associated with the passage of the CZ-5B space object crossing Spanish airspace, flights have been completely restricted from 9.38am to 10.18am in Catalonia and other communities. “Airports and other organisations have already been informed.” Spanish air traffic controllers tweeted: “Eurocontrol has informed us about the non-controlled re-entry of a Chinese rocket into the Earth’s atmosphere. READ MORE ON WORLD NEWS CRASHING TO EARTH Out-of-control Chinese rocket lands in Indian Ocean as 'debris spotted' TOUGH TALK Russia warns 'UK is too deep' in war & claims it will share proof of drone blast “Rate Zero has been established for certain parts of Spanish airspace and that could affect air traffic by way of delays and diversions.” China launched the third and final piece of its new Tiangong space station on Monday – and warnings had been sounded about the rocket’s 23-ton body coming back down on Earth with Spain identified as one of the countries in its path. Some air passengers are understood to have been informed about the Spanish airspace closures after they had already boarded for take-off. Debris from the rocket was expected to break the atmosphere on Saturday, according to aerospace experts who are scrambling to determine its path back home. Most read in The Sun VERTI-NO I’m A Celebrity star pulls out of terrifying first trial after last-minute panic TOY STORY I'm a play therapist & there are five gifts I’d never give kids 'SO RUDE' EastEnders fans fume as The One Show's Alex and Jermaine 'snub' Danielle Harold TATT'S BAD I wore a Halloween tattoo & it won’t come off, I’ll have to go to work like this AGONISING DECISION I couldn’t afford two babies so I gave up one of my twins BUTTON IT People are only just releasing why women's buttons are on the left hand side It prompted pleas for further information from Chinese authorities. Gregory Henning, Project Leader at The Aerospace Corporation’s Centre for Orbital Debris and Reentry Studies (CORDS) suggested that there is still too much uncertainty in the data and models to make a prediction. “As the rocket body’s altitude decreases and the re-entry approaches, the window will shrink, and will begin to reveal locations that will not be the landing site,” Henning told the Daily Mail.   “But the exact location will not be known until it actually enters.” The latest rocket malfunction mirrors a crash in July after space debris from a previous Chinese launch plummeted in the Indian Ocean near Malaysia. At the time experts failed to disclose its exact location following fears that it could have hit a populated town or village. Read More on The Sun XMAS JOY Lidl's Christmas ad is going for your heartstrings - but your kids will be gutted BUSH SHUTTER I'm A Celeb attraction shuts for good leaving parents saying Xmas is ruined But while major cities again appear to be safe from the falling debris on this occasion, Henning suggested that “88 per cent of the world’s population does live within those at-risk latitude bounds” of the booster’s expected landing area. However, the odds of an individual being affected are said to be about six in 10 trillion.