Travel plans were thrown into disarray for passengers at airports in Scotland and Northern Ireland, while even the US president, Barack Obama, was forced to amend his itinerary, flying into London earlier than planned to avoid the dense plume drifting towards the UK.
Forecasters predicted the volcanic cloud, which billowed from Iceland‘s volcano, would reach Scotland and Northern Ireland in the coming hours, with much of the UK being covered by midday.
However, as a string of carriers announced cancellations, the transport secretary, Philip Hammond, said Britons had “to learn to live” with chaos caused by volcanic activity.
Responding to warnings, British Airways announced it would not operate any flights between London and Scotland before 2pm. Only last year, the airline’s then chief executive, Willie Walsh, criticized airport closures and said blanket bans imposed on flying were “a gross overreaction to a very minor risk”.
According to the BBC, Iceland‘s airspace has been closed for a period as a result of the volcano but experts say this eruption is on a different scale to the one last year and ash particles are larger and, as a result, fall to the ground more quickly.
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