Unexploded Second World War torpedo forces closure of Orkney Islands airport

Main airport closed for three hours while controlled explosion takes place

Orkney hub: Kirkwall airport, on the mainland of the archipelago (Highlands and Islands Airports)

The main airport of the Orkney Islands will be closed for three hours on the busiest day of the week because of an unexploded German torpedo in nearby Scapa Flow.

Loganair says Kirkwall airport will be closed from 11.30am to 2.30pm on Friday.

The torpedo was discovered on Monday close to the wreck of HMS Royal Oak, which was sunk by a U-boat in October 1939, soon after the start of the Second World War.

A Royal Navy bomb disposal team “will be engaged in the recovery, movement and detonation of a suspected live warhead”, according to the Orkney Islands Council Harbour Authority.

In a Notice to Mariners it has warned vessels in the vicinity to stay at least 1.2 miles away.

Flight paths to and from the airport go over Scapa Flow – the deep body of water surrounded by the Orkney Mainland and other islands.

Loganair told passengers: “Please check flight status before going to the airport, as there will be delays.

“We're sorry for the inconvenience this will cause.”

Flights to and from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and some smaller Orkney Islands will be affected.

Last week all flights were halted at Berlin’s Schoenefeld airport for over an hour due to the discovery of an unexploded Allied bomb from the Second World War.

Many flights were delayed, and six were diverted.