Volcanic ash disrupts all flights at Birmingham Airport

MAJOR disruption at Birmingham Airport was predicted today after flights from airports across the UK were grounded as a cloud of ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland moved southwards.

Up to 37,000 passengers at Birmingham International Airport saw their flights cancelled or delayed as the scale of the problem became clear to the aviation authorities. A spokesman said that only a handful of this morning’s flights had got off the ground before the flight ban was enforced, and very few if any of the day’s 80 scheduled flights were expected to go ahead.

An update on the situation was due at lunchtime, but airport sources were privately admitting that travellers could not expect a return to normality until tomorrow.

Russel Craig, of Manchester Airport, told the BBC: “From seven this morning until 1pm, there will virtually no flights from Manchester. The nature of the ash makes it dangerous for planes to operate.”

The extent of the ash plume from the volcano, which erupted on Wednesday, became clear overnight, and the National Air Traffic Control Service (NATS) imposed restrictions following warnings from the Met Office.

All Scottish  airports were shut and there were disruptions at Liverpool, Leeds Bradford, Stansted, Belfast and Newcastle. Some  flights at  Dublin airport were also cancelled.

A Nats spokesman said: “Nats is working with Eurocontrol and our colleagues in Europe’s other air navigation service providers to take the appropriate action to ensure safety in accordance with international aviation policy.”

BAA said: “Passengers intending to fly today are asked to contact their airline for further information and should expect disruption in the coming hours.”