Icelandair operates special Glasgow flights

Icelandair operated three special flights to Glasgow from Reykjavik on Friday (April 16th) to get hundreds of stranded passengers back to the UK.

The carrier was one of the first to fly into the UK after the volcanic eruption in Iceland on Wednesday, which has led to widespread cancellations across Europe.

Limited services have been allowed in Scotland and Northern Ireland, meaning Icelandair was able to carry around 600 passengers back to the UK after their original return flights were called off.

Among the travellers were a number of school groups who had taken geography field trips to Iceland.

Hjorvar Saeberg Hognason, general manager of Icelandair UK, said while many of the students were "in good spirits", parents were anxious to get their children home.

He added: "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."

National Air Traffic Services recently advised that current restrictions across UK airspace remain in place until 01:00 BST on Tuesday April 20th.

Posted by Paul, 19 April 2010 13:10

News tags

• Reykjavik
• Icelandair