Volcanic ash cloud travel disruption continues

Air passengers could face further disruption today as northerly winds bring volcanic ash back over Ireland and western Scotland.

A number of flights from the UK and Ireland were grounded yesterday as several Spanish airports closed.

They were expected to remain shut until the early hours of this morning as an ash cloud moved over Europe.

Ryanair said airspace over southern France could also be restricted and the airline was expecting to have to cancel flights until midnight yesterday.

London Stansted Airport saw the cancellation of 25 Ryanair services to destinations including the Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal, along with five easyJet flights.

At Gatwick, six easyJet services were grounded while another four Ryanair flights to Alicante, Madrid and Barcelona were cancelled.

Ryanair placed details of cancelled flights on its website, including services from East Midlands, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Liverpool.

It advised customers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport.

It is likely that some Scottish airports will be closed this morning due to the ash cloud, Highland and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) said.

A statement on the HIAL website said Barra, Benbecula, Kirkwall, Inverness, Stornoway and Tiree airports are expected to be shut until 1pm.

It urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information.