First British flights cancelled as volcanic ash closes on Scotland

The first flights cancelled in Britain because of the latest Icelandic volcanic ash cloud were announced last night, with further disruption likely.

As ash was forecast to reach Scotland yesterday evening, Glasgow-based carrier Loganair said it had axed 36 flights this morning.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the ash, from the eruption of Grimsvotn in Iceland, had already caused “modest delays” to some flights including some Atlantic services.

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He also warned that there could be further disruption later in the week.

But Mr Hammond and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) stressed that the UK was in a much better position to deal with the latest problem than it was last year when the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused the closure of airspace and the cancellation of thousands of flights.

Loganair said it had cancelled all its flights due to depart between 6am and 1pm today except its inter-isles flights in Orkney.

Its services are mostly within Scotland, but some cancelled flights are to Birmingham and Belfast.

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Air traffic control company NATS said the latest information from the Met Office showed volcanic ash could affect some parts of Scotland between 6pm and midnight last night.

It added that airports in the UK remained open but some services may be affected at Barra, Benbecula and Tiree airfields. NATS said passengers should check with their airline before travelling.

Mr Hammond said: “We continue to monitor the situation in Iceland closely in conjunction with the Met Office.

“Clearly, this is a natural phenomenon which we cannot control, but the UK is now much better prepared to deal with an ash eruption than last year.”

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He added: “Our investment in new equipment to better monitor ash concentrations and our development of new operating procedures for airlines will all help to lessen the impact the eruption will have on UK aviation.

“There have already been some modest delays to flights, particularly those crossing the Atlantic, due to the need for those flights to avoid areas of high ash concentration, and there could be further disruption later in the week, but we are doing everything we can to keep this to a minimum.”

A CAA spokesman said: “We are in a totally different world as far as procedures go now compared with last year.

“If we have the same level of ash as we did last year there will not be the same problem.

“Airspace will not be closed and we will notify airlines when the Met Office predicts there are medium or high levels of ash present,” the spokesman said.