North airports boss's warning as first "ash cloud" flights cancelled

THE volcanic ash from the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland could seriously impact on air travel in Scotland tomorrow (Tuesday).

Managing Director at Highlands and Islands Airports Limited Inglis Lyon told the Highland News there will be a lot of disruption.

He said: "The Met Office reports clearly indicate that the ash cloud is expected to reach the UK mainland tonight and the whole of Scotland could be covered tomorrow. Clearly there is going to be a lot of disruption."

Mr Lyon added: "Loganair have already cancelled all flights on Tuesday between 6.30am and 1pm although smaller planes on inter-island flights which fly at a much lower level will not be affected.

"Flybe and Easyjet are currently monitoring the situation and we expect to hear from them about 6pm this evening (Monday) about their plans for tomorrow.

"In the meantime I would urge all travellers using our airports to check with their airlines about flights."

Flybe are telling passengers they should go to the airport as normal for their scheduled flight but an upsdate will be posted on the airline’s web page by 8.30pm tonight.

Following disruption due to volcanic ash in 2010 and because of its work with aircraft and engine manufacturers, a Flybe spokesperson added: "Flybe is one of the few commercial airlines that has permission from Regulatory Authorities to fly in more dense concentrations of ash. We are therefore able to treat this disruption in a manner similar to any weather disruption and our commitment is to keep Britain and Europe on the move by flying our programme wherever possible."

A Loganair spokesman said: "Normal flight operations are being maintained today (Monday) but there is some disruption due to high winds which has affected flights to Barra and Tiree.

"For tomorrow (Tuesday), the volcanic ash forecasts issued by the Met Office this afternoon indicate that a high density of ash will be present in large parts of Scottish airspace.

"As a result of this, we have taken the decision to cancel all services with the exception of our inter-isles flights in Orkney. All flights due to depart between 6am and 1pm tomorrow have therefore been cancelled. You should not travel to the airport and if you are booked on a flight departing tomorrow afternoon, you should check the website for further updates before setting out for the airport.

"We are operating additional services this evening (Monday) to assist passengers due to travel tomorrow to complete their journeys in advance of the expected flight disruption."

The eruption at the weekend of the Grimsvotn volcano, its largest in 100 years, sent a plume of smoke 12 miles into the air forcing the cancellation of domestic flights in Iceland.

The Eyjafjallajokull eruption, in April 2010, caused the largest closure of European airspace since World War II, with losses estimated at between 1.5bn and 2.5bn euros (£1.3-2.2bn).

Last year thousands of passengers were stranded around the globe by the ash cloud and the Highland News told how 20 members of a local family were left stranded in Florida after volcanic eruptions in Iceland caused chaos to air travel in Europe.

All passengers travelling from any of HIAL’s 11 airports are urged to contact individual airlines directly for further information.

Flybe: www.flybe.com

EasyJet: www.easyjet.com

CityJet : www.cityjet.com

Loganair: www.loganair.co.uk

Eastern Airways: www.easternairways.com