Volcanic ash halts Western Isles flights

An eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland began on Saturday evening, 21 May.     The situation is being closely monitored by the Icelandic and UK Met Office which are publishing regular updates on the height, density and location of ash emitted by the volcano.

Normal flight operations are being maintained today (Monday 23 May) but there is some disruption due to high winds which has affected flights to Barra and Tiree.

For tomorrow, Tuesday 24 May, the volcanic ash forecasts issued by the Met Office this afternoon indicate that a high density of ash will be present in large parts of Scottish airspace.

As a result of this, we have taken the decision to cancel all services with the exception of our inter-isles flights in Orkney.     All flights due to depart between 06:00 and 13:00 hrs tomorrow have therefore been cancelled.   You should not travel to the airport and if you are booked on a flight departing tomorrow afternoon, you should check the website for further updates before setting out for the airport.

We are operating additional services this evening (Monday 23 May) to assist passengers due to travel tomorrow to complete their journeys in advance of the expected flight disruption.  These extra flights are:

BE6894            Kirkwall-Edinburgh     Departs 19:25, arrives 20:40

BE6914            Kirkwall-Glasgow        Departs 20:00, arrives 21:15

BE6934            Sumburgh-Glasgow     Departs 19:50, arrives 21:20

BE6998            Sumburgh-Edinburgh  Departs 20:00, arrives 21:30

The additional flights will be available for booking on a first-come, first-served basis via our reservations system and website this afternoon.

We do not yet have firm information relating to tomorrow afternoon’s flights but the expectation from the Met Office is that the presence of volcanic ash will persist throughout the day and will clear progressively on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.     Further information will be available this evening relating to tomorrow’s flights when the Met Office forecasts have been published, and this will be reflected here.

For passengers booked on flights on 24 May, we can offer a number of options:

• You can rebook for travel on an alternative flight to your destination at the earliest available opportunity.
• You can rebook for travel within 14 days on any flight which has seats available, regardless of the fare paid.
• You can rebook for travel at any future date provided that seats are available at the same fare as you have originally paid.
• You can obtain a full refund for any part(s) of your journey not taken.

Flybe Customer Call Centre :  Tel 0871 700 2000

Loganair Air Discount Scheme Reservations & Helpline :    Tel 0844 800 2855

The following flights are CANCELLED for Tuesday 24 May.   If you are booked on one of the services listed below, you should NOT travel to the airport and should contact our Reservations team to re-arrange your travel plans.    If you are booked on a flight due to depart later in the day on Tuesday 24 May which is not listed below, you should check the website this evening or tomorrow morning for more information relating to your flight.

BE6770 Aberdeen-Sumburgh

BE6771 Sumburgh-Aberdeen

BE6772 Aberdeen-Sumburgh

BE6773 Sumburgh-Aberdeen

BE6807 Glasgow-Benbecula

BE6808 Benbecula-Glasgow

BE6811 Glasgow-Isle of Man

BE6812 Isle of Man-Glasgow

BE6820 Glasgow-Stornoway

BE6821 Stornoway-Glasgow

BE6822 Glasgow-Stornoway

BE6823 Stornoway-Glasgow

BE6831 Kirkwall-Aberdeen

BE6832 Aberdeen-Kirkwall

BE6843 Glasgow-Campbeltown

BE6844 Campbeltown-Glasgow

BE6853 Glasgow-Tiree

BE6854 Tiree-Glasgow

BE6890 Kirkwall-Edinburgh

BE6891 Edinburgh-Kirkwall

BE6892 Kirkwall-Edinburgh

BE6895 Edinburgh-Wick

BE6896 Wick-Edinburgh

BE6910 Sumburgh-Kirkwall-Inverness

BE6911 Inverness-Kirkwall-Sumburgh

BE6912 Sumburgh-Glasgow

BE6915 Glasgow-Kirkwall

BE6916 Kirkwall-Glasgow

BE6941 Edinburgh-Stornoway

BE6942 Stornoway-Inverness-Edinburgh

BE6951 Inverness-Stornoway-Benbecula

BE6952 Benbecula-Stornoway-Inverness

BE6970 Dundee-Birmingham

BE6971 Birmingham-Dundee

BE6972 Dundee-Belfast City

BE6973 Belfast City-Dundee

BE6992 Sumburgh-Edinburgh

BE6993 Edinburgh-Sumburgh