25 MAY: More than 250 flights to and from Scotland and Northern Ireland were cancelled yesterday as a cloud of ash from the latest Iceland volcanic eruption spread across the region.
Air traffic controllers expected the cloud to cover parts of Scandinavia, Denmark and Germany by the end of the day.
But as with the Iceland eruption a year ago, carriers are challenging claims by authorities that it presents a hazard to aircraft.
Controversial carrier Ryanair sent a plane into Scottish airspace and claims it found no ash in the atmosphere.
"Exactly as we predicted, we encountered absolutely no problems", Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary told The Associated Press.
"There’s no cloud over Scotland. There’s no dusting of ash on the airframe or the wings. The airspace over Scotland should never have been restricted in the first place."
Nonetheless, Irish authorities forced the airline to cancel all 68 flights to and from Scotland yesterday.
Seven other airlines — most of them regional carriers — also grounded Scottish flights.
Experts say the amount of ash being released by the volcano is decreasing, and they don’t expect the disruption to be as bad as last year, when millions of travellers were stranded.
