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Page last updated at 22:33 GMT, Tuesday, 20 April 2010 23:33 UK

Airspace around Glasgow reopens

Glasgow Airport
Flights from Glasgow Airport were halted from 1300 BST

The airspace around Glasgow Airport reopened just hours before the government announced that all UK airports would reopen from 2200 BST.

Scottish airspace reopened on Tuesday morning, but Glasgow airspace closed again for six hours until 1900 BST.

UK Transport Secretary Lord Adonis announced that all airports could reopen following discussion with the Civil Aviation Authority.

He said some restrictions would remain in place.

Earlier, fresh controls, in place from 1300 BST, restricted planes to flying in the eastern part of Scottish airspace.

The Glasgow airspace had been shut until 1900 BST due to changes in the cloud of ash.

I have been in transit since last Thursday
Peter Sephton

Three Thomas Cook aircraft are due into Glasgow Airport from Heraklion in Greece, Arrecife in Lanzarote, and Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt.

A BAA spokesman said: "As these airports return to normal operations, it is imperative that passengers contact their airline before travelling to the airport.

"Not all flights will operate during the early period of opening, and we will do everything we can to support airlines and get people moving."

Speaking on Tuesday night a spokesman for air traffic control body Nats said a "dense concentration of volcanic ash" remained over north west Scotland.

Thousands of passengers remain stranded as a result of the ban which has been in place for most of the country since Thursday.

A ferry which normally runs across the Pentland Firth is to be used to bring hundreds of people back from Norway to Scotland.

The Northlink vessel will be sent from Orkney to Bergen at midnight to pick up the passengers and bring them back to Aberdeen.

Earlier in the day, flights from Glasgow Airport took off bound for Iceland, Kirkwall and the Faroes, before the closure at 1300 BST.

The BBC spoke to passengers coming off the ferry at Rosyth

Flights from the Scottish islands, the Isle of Man and Reykjavik, Iceland, arrived at the airport.

Departures for Iceland and Kirkwall were scheduled from Edinburgh on Tuesday afternoon.

Aberdeen Airport had flights to the Scottish islands, Belfast, Durham Tees and Newcastle scheduled.

Flybe confirmed it had cancelled all remaining UK flights on Tuesday.

Loganair said it had restored morning services from the mainland to Stornoway, Kirkwall, Campbeltown, Islay, Tiree, Benbecula and the Isle of Man.

However, it cancelled several afternoon flights after the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) showed a new cloud of volcanic ash moving in from Iceland during the course of the day.

FLIGHT DISRUPTION
Part of map showing flights around cloud

Jonathan Hinkles, Loganair's commercial director, said: "We sincerely regret that our planned schedule - and most importantly, the plans of our customers - has been further affected by the changing size and shape of the volcanic ash cloud."

A helpline for passengers stranded due to the volcanic ash cloud and concerned relatives has been launched by the Scottish Government.

It is designed to complement the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) helpline which will remain the main point of contact for travellers needing help while stranded overseas.

The helpline offers "general advice that may be helpful to stranded travellers and their families", including contact details for airlines and travel operators and the latest information issued by travel operators.

A union has warned that jobs could be lost in the airline industry as firms looked to cut costs in the wake of the disruption caused by the volcanic ash.

Unite said it feared that some companies, particularly those providing ground services, would press workers to take unpaid leave, and that without government assistance jobs would be lost.

The issue will be the subject of an emergency debate at the Scottish TUC conference in Dundee, prompted by Unite's growing concern that the industry will need large-scale assistance as it attempts to get back to full operations in the days to come.

The Scottish government helpline number is 0800 027 0504 or from overseas +44 800 027 0504.



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