'I'm just glad to be back home'

For the passengers who managed to board flights in and out of Scotland after days of waiting for a cloud of volcanic ash to move, the relief was immense.

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

Scottish airports opened at 0700 BST, although Glasgow Airport was closed again six hours later.

But it provided a window of opportunity for hundreds of passengers.

Those on board the flight from Iceland to Glasgow included Duncan Macfarlane, 26, from Milton of Campsie, near Glasgow.

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"I was meant to be back on Saturday morning, flying from JFK to Heathrow. I managed to get a transfer to Iceland, then I was told I could go no further," he said.

"I've spent about £500 more than I was planning on spending for accommodation and flights. It's good to be home. It's good to be back."

Peter Sephton, 50, from Worcester, said: "I have been in transit since last Thursday.

"I was due to fly from Chicago, where I was on a business trip, to London.

"I instead flew to Seattle and managed to get to Iceland. I'm relieved and just glad to be home."

Bjarni Jonasson, 33, a marine biologist from Skagastrond in Iceland, who had been working in Oban, was among the first to check in at Glasgow Airport for the 1205 BST flight to Reykjavik.

He said: "I was supposed to go on Saturday so I have been here for two days extra.

"You hear all kinds of rumours. I've been watching the news and sometimes they say it is possible today. So this morning I was a little afraid they would be cancelled, but I am booking in at least now."

He said he was happy with the way airlines had handled the ash crisis.

"I guess they would not let us in the air if they were not sure it was OK. I think they are doing a very good job."

The family of a pensioner from Lanarkshire who travelled to Greenland to sit his husky sled driving licence said he was among those caught up in the ash cloud travel chaos.

Lorne Brown, 78, of Dullatur, managed to get a seat on a flight to Glasgow Airport from Iceland, after completing a 10-day fundraising trek to the Arctic Circle.

His daughter Christine Brown told the BBC Scotland news website: "He is 78, and even though he had done all the physical stuff I still worry about him getting home safe."

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

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