Icelandair operates special flights during volcanic ash crisis

Posted on: 19 April 2010

Icelandair operated three special flights on Friday April 16th to help passengers who were stranded in Iceland following the eruption of a volcano in the country.

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano began erupting on Wednesday April 14th, creating a cloud of ash that has drifted into British and European airspace, forcing an aviation lockdown across the region.

While services have been suspended at the majority of airports in the UK, limited operations have been allowed in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This meant that Icelandair was able to operate three flights to Glasgow from Reykjavik on Friday, carrying around 600 passengers back to the UK after their original return services were cancelled.

Hjorvar Saeberg Hognason, general manager of Icelandair UK, said: "Keflavik International airport has remained open as the volcano is not a threat to the Reykjavik area, so when we received the confirmation that flights from Iceland could operate safely to Glasgow, we arranged for three aircraft to transport passengers whose flights had been cancelled."

EU transport ministers are set to hold an emergency video conference today (April 19th) to discuss how to tackle the problem presented by the cloud of volcanic ash, which contains small particles that could damage aircraft engines.

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