Thousands Stranded as Iceland Ash Cloud Brings Chaos

By DAMIEN HENDERSON – “THOUSANDS of holidaymakers saw their plans thrown into disarray yesterday as airlines grounded their planes after a blanket of thick volcanic ash drifted over Scotland from an Icelandic volcano.

Travellers at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Prestwick airports encountered long check-in queues and a frustrating list of cancellations after hopes faded that the cloud from Grimsvotn volcano would drift south and allow planes to take off.

By mid-afternoon yesterday, after seeing all but a handful of planes grounded, all three central belt airports had confirmed that no further flights would depart as airlines reacted to advice from the UK airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Last night there were signs that the ash cloud was moving away from Scotland. The National Air Traffic Services (Nats) predicted it would pass towards Germany.

The Met Office predicted that the high-density ash clouds would disperse from today around the UK.” Read more.