News / Loganair monitors ash cloud
FLIGHTS in and out of Shetland are expected to operate as normal despite fears that the ash being spewed into the atmosphere by the Grimsvötn volcano, in Iceland, might enter the Scottish airspace by Tuesday.
On Monday morning, Loganair said the company was closely monitoring the situation and was in touch with the Icelandic and the UK Met Office.
As a precaution, the company has announced that it will allow any passenger booked for travel on Monday 23 May, and Tuesday 24 May to amend their booking free of charge to travel on any flight up to and including Tuesday 31 May on which seats remain available, regardless of the fare paid.
“This applies to all services operated by Loganair, which carry flight numbers BE6770-6999. If you have a connection between a Loganair and a Flybe service under a single booking reference covering your whole journey, the Flybe flights can also be changed free of charge,” spokesman said.
He added that Loganair would review the situation again later on Monday afternoon, once a detailed forecast for the following day was available.
“All available information shows that Shetland and Orkney operations will remain clear and so at this time, we do not expect any flight disruption for tomorrow (Tuesday) in those areas. This guidance will also be updated this afternoon when more information becomes available.
“Following the developments after last year’s volcanic eruption, we are able to operate safely in areas where volcanic ash is present at lower densities.
“This represents a significant step forward from last April’s events when no flight operations were possible where any trace of volcanic ash was present.
“However, we cannot rule out the possibility of flight disruption if a high density of volcanic ash is carried by prevailing winds into UK airspace.”
Full information on the current status of all Loganair flights (Flybe services BE6770-6999) can be found using the Live Flight Arrivals and Departures facility on the home page of the Loganair website at www.loganair.co.uk
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