The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued guidance to operators announcing that airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland will be closed from 07:00 today.
In a statement on its website (0200), the CAA says:
Following the latest updated forecast from the UK Met Office, the CAA can confirm that some airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland will be closed from 07:00 local time today.
This will mean that from 07:00 until 13:00 local time we expect the following airports to be closed:
Scotland
Glasgow
Prestwick
Inverness
Stornoway
Benbecula
Tiree
Islay
Barra
Campbeltown
Northern Ireland
Derry
Between 13:00 and 19:00 local time we expect the following airports to be closed:
Scotland
Glasgow
Prestwick
Stornoway
Benbecula
Tiree
Islay
Barra
Campbeltown
Northern Ireland
Belfast International
Belfast City
Derry
Current forecasts show that the 60 nautical mile buffer zone imposed around high concentrations of ash may be close to the following airports:
Edinburgh
Carlisle
Blackpool
Liverpool
Manchester
However, based on current forecasts CAA has assessed that these airports can safely remain open, but passengers should check with their airline before travelling to the airport, as the situation is dynamic:
The CAA will provide an update to the situation and the list of airports tomorrow morning when further Met Office forecasts are available.
The situation remains changeable, so passengers expecting to travel tomorrow from airports in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the north of England and North Wales should contact their airlines to check whether their flight is operating.
Based on current forecasts, the CAA does not expect airports in the South East of England to be affected tomorrow."
Easyjet has issued the following:
"Due to the ongoing volcanic eruption in Iceland, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will close Scottish and Northern Ireland airspace on Wednesday morning (5 May). This means that all easyJet flights that are due to depart Scotland and Northern Ireland before 09:00hrs (UK Local) will be cancelled.
Further updates will be posted on easyJet.com throughout the night."
Flybe has issued the following:
Wednesday May 5th, 2010 Updated 0645
*ALL FLYBE FLIGHTS TO AND FROM GLASGOW AND INVERNESS CANCELLED UNTIL 1300.
* FLIGHTS DEPARTING TO AND FROM DUBLIN CANCELLED BETWEEN 1000 AND 1600
Due to the continuing volcanic ash situation ongoing from the Icelandic volcanic eruption and the No Zone flying area now applied by the authorities over Glasgow and Inverness through till 1300, Flybe has cancelled all of its flights serving the two Scottish cities this morning, Wednesday May 5th.
Flights to and from Dublin between 1000 and 1600 have also been cancelled.
All of our other remaining flights to and from Scotland are operating as normal as are all other Flybe flights across the network with the exception of Dublin as detailed above.
Services to and from Belfast have not been cancelled but are on hold and may still operate on further advice from the Met Office and National Air Traffic Services. Further update will be issued by 0730.
The following is a list of all Flybe’s flights to and from Dublin, Glasgow and Inverness that have now been CANCELLED:
BE125 BELFAST-GLASGOW dep 0715
BE127 BELFAST-GLASGOW dep 1015
BE782 BIRMINGHAM-GLASGOW dep 0700
BE786 BIRMINGHAM-GLASGOW dep 1050
BE1432 CARDIFF-GLASGOW dep 0850
BE784 BIRMINGHAM-GLASGOW dep 0850
BE304 DUBLIN-EXETER dep 1155
BE385 DUBLIN-SOUTHAMPTON dep 1610
BE303 EXETER-DUBLIN dep 1020
BE532 EXETER-GLASGOW dep 1225
BE783 GLASGOW-BIRMINGHAM dep 0845
BE881 GLASGOW-SOUTHAMPTON dep 0645
BE341 GLASGOW-MANCHESTER dep 0700
BE1431 GLASGOW-CARDIFF dep 0655
BE343 GLASGOW-MANCHESTER dep 1035
BE126 GLASGOW-BELFAST dep 0825
BE883 GLASGOW-SOUTHAMPTON dep 0850
BE128 GLASGOW-BELFAST dep 1125
BE787 GLASGOW-BIRMINGHAM dep 1230
BE781 GLASGOW-BIRMINGHAM dep 0705
BE531 GLASGOW-EXETER dep 1030
BE7320 INVERNESS-LONDON GATWICK dep 0710
BE201 INVERNESS-MANCHESTER dep 0700
BE7321 LONDON GATWICK-INVERNESS dep 0935
BE342 MANCHESTER-GLASGOW dep 0835
BE344 MANCHESTER-GLASGOW dep 1205
BE202 MANCHESTER-INVERNESS dep 0855
BE384 SOUTHAMPTON-DUBLIN dep 1425
BE882 SOUTHAMPTON-GLASGOW dep 0845
BE880 SOUTHAMPTON-GLASGOW dep 0655
Passengers due to fly on any of the above Flybe flights serving Glasgow and Inverness and Dublin should not to go to their airport of departure.
Flybe is committed to restoring service to passengers as soon as the relevant airspace is re-opened.
Flybe will continue to update this website www.flybe.com on a regular basis and the decision regarding the operation of Flybe flights after 1300 today will be advised as soon as possible and by 1045 at the latest.
Passengers whose flight has been cancelled either yesterday or today due to the volcanic ash cloud disrupting services may :
a) Rebook free of charge for travel on the same route within the nExeter 28 days subject to availability
b) Rebook for travel at any time for no charge subject to availability
c) Request a full refund.
Passengers can call the Flybe Customer Call Centre on 0871 700 2000 or, if calling from outside the UK, 00 44 1392 268500.
Travel agents may request refunds via their BSP link for any flights cancelled in order to minimise delays.
Flybe regrets any inconvenience caused due to these exceptional circumstances that are beyond our control and thanks callers in advance for their patience at this busy time.
LOGANAIR UPDATE
Updated 0645
The Civil Aviation Authority has now formally published details of the No Fly Zone due to high levels of volcanic ash concentration which will affect some parts of Scottish airspace today, Wednesday 5 May. Please note that – contrary to the incorrect advice published by the CAA last night – some Scottish airports remain open and fully operational.
The following flights due to depart up to and including 1330 have now been CANCELLED:
BE6807 Glasgow to Benbecula
BE6808 Benbecula to Glasgow
BE6811 Glasgow to Isle of Man
BE6812 Isle of Man to Glasgow
BE6820 Glasgow to Stornoway
BE6821 Stornoway to Glasgow
BE6843 Glasgow to Campbeltown
BE6844 Campbeltown to Glasgow
BE6853 Glasgow to Tiree
BE6854 Tiree to Glasgow
BE6906 Stornoway to Benbecula
BE6907 Benbecula to Stornoway
BE6910 Sumburgh-Kirkwall-Inverness
BE6911 Inverness-Kirkwall-Sumburgh
BE6912 Sumburgh-Glasgow
BE6915 Glasgow-Kirkwall
BE6916 Kirkwall-Glasgow
BE6917 Glasgow-Sumburgh
BE6921 Glasgow to Islay
BE6922 Islay to Glasgow
BE6941 Edinburgh to Stornoway
BE6942 Stornoway to Edinburgh
BE6951 Inverness to Stornoway
BE6952 Stornoway to Inverness
Passengers on these services should not travel to the airport but should instead contact Flybe and Loganair using the telephone numbers below to re-arrange travel plans.
A decision relating to the operation of afternoon flights on those routes listed above and the Glasgow-Barra, Barra-Benbecula and Edinburgh-Isle of Man services will be taken by midday once details of any No Fly Zone in place for this afternoon from 1300 is made available by the CAA.
Loganair will endeavour to operate services as normal on those routes where airports and airspace remain unaffected by volcanic ash. Flights between Aberdeen and Sumburgh; Aberdeen and Kirkwall; Kirkwall and Edinburgh; Edinburgh and Wick; Dundee and Birmingham; Edinburgh and Sumburgh and Loganair inter-island services within the Orkney Islands will therefore operate as scheduled.
Although the situation is entirely beyond Loganair’s control, we wish to offer our sincere apologies to customers whose travel plans have been affected by the latest volcanic ash contamination.
Flybe and Loganair Reservations Contacts
Flybe’s call centre can be contacted on 0871 700 2000. Loganair’s Air Discount Scheme helpline on 0844 800 2855 is open from 07:00 to 17:00 on weekdays to enable ADS customers to rearrange travel plans if they wish.
Re-booking and refunds
If your flight has been cancelled, you can:
a) Rebook free of charge for travel within the next 28 days subject to space being available on the aircraft.
b) Rebook for travel at any time for no charge provided that your original fare is available.
c) Obtain a full refund for any part(s) of the journey not taken.
