Several Scottish airports have been shut, and massive flight disruptions have been projected across the UK, after an ash cloud began drifting over from Iceland where a volcano erupted yesterday.
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports have been shut and several flights due to depart from other UK airports have been cancelled. The smoke is projected to move south, and further disruptions have been projected.
"Following advice from the Met Office, the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) has introduced restrictions to UK airspace this morning as a result of volcanic ash drifting across the UK from Iceland. These measures currently affect Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports which are closed but may also affect other parts of the UK later today," says UK airport operator BAA.
Norway's aviation authority AVINOR closed roughly the northern half of the country's airspace yesterday evening, and several flights from the country were cancelled.
Ireland's Aer Lingus says that there will be major disruption to its flights from Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Belfast and London Gatwick. Ryanair and EasyJet have also projected cancellations.
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Source: Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre |
Several international carriers have also cancelled flights to the UK. Dubai's Emirates, for example, will not operate its regular services to London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Glasgow today.
"The closure of airspace is in keeping with the safety advice issued by UK air traffic control. Emirates continues to liaise with the UK and European ATC authorities to monitor the movement of the ash cloud," says the airline.
- All the latest news, images and information on the ash cloud causing major disruptions to Europe's air space
- Latest on AirSpace
- Airline Business blog: Icelandic volcano causes chaos over British skies
- Archive link relating to BA Flight 9 which famously went through a volcanic storm and lost power in all four engines:
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
