8.06am:

After the severe winter weather and the BA strikes, the UK is becoming fairly accustomed to flights being cancelled.

However not even the most cynical of travellers could have predicted that planes would be grounded today due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland.

Having lain dormant for almost 200 years until last month, the volcano beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, 120 km east of Reykjavik, erupted spectacularly yesterday.

Airports are closed and flights cancelled across the UK, with the National Air Traffic Service warning the volcanic ash poses a "significant safety threat to aircraft".

8.22am:

In addition to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports being closed flights from across the UK have been affected. Here's a round up:

Heathrow airport has cancelled 161 flights due to the volcano.

A spokeswoman just confirmed 83 arrivals and 78 departures will not travel today, and warned the number of cancellations "is expected to grow".

"Earlier on it was predominantly domestic flights," she said.

"But now it is affecting a wide range of destinations as the volcano continues to erupt and the ash moves further south."

Over 100 flights to and from Gatwick have been cancelled, while a spokesman for Stansted Airport said 17 scheduled departures were cancelled and the number was likely to rise throughout the day.

Meanwhile Birmingham International Airport has cancelled around 70 flights, and a spokeswoman for Luton airport has warned "flights will be severely disrupted today."

Some flights have also been cancelled at East Midlands and Exeter airports.

8.28am:

The Guardian's Scotland correspondent, Severin Carrell, has this:

"All flights to and from every Scottish airport, including lifeline

services to Scottish islands, have been grounded by national air

traffic control services, leading to the cancellation of 250 flights.

The restrictions affect all domestic flights from UK airports to Scottish airports.

The only services which could still fly are military and coastguard search and rescue flights, by helicopters which normally fly at low level. Every airport in the UK is expected to be affected as the ash cloud begins spreading south-eastwards.

The BBC Scotland is reporting that Glasgow airport is quiet, with many air travellers hearing messages to stay at home. The Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, has been forced to cancel an election campaign visit to Dunfermline and Edinburgh this morning.

From PA: The Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) at RAF Kinloss, which oversees search and rescue operations across Scotland, is co-ordinating the transfer of a patient from east Scotland to London by Royal Navy Sea King.

It would not normally send a helicopter from Scotland so far south but due to the air traffic control (ATC) restrictions caused by the volcanic ash there were no civilian aircraft or military fixed wings options available.

The call came in at 3.13am and the patient was taken by ambulance from Dunfermline to a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from HMS Gannet at Prestwick.

From there the patient will be flown to Regent's Park where the ambulance will meet them and take the patient to University College Hospital.

An RAF spokesman said: "If we had not taken this patient by helicopter then the only other option was a road ambulance."

Photo from Benzo.is

8.58am:

Some amazing pictures emerging from Iceland of the volcano. A Flickr group has been set up, with images showing the lava spewing from the glacier, melting ice and sending steam and ash into the air. Thanks for Benzo.is for this snap.

Mark Duff has emailed saying Ryanair have cancelled all flights to and from the UK today.

An update on the airline's website confirms it:

"Ryanair confirms that no further Ryanair flights will operate to or from the UK today (Thursday 15th April '10) from 09:00. Air space closures are likely in other Northern European countries. Cancellations and delays may also be expected tomorrow. Flight cancellations will be updated below."

9.06am:

I've just spoken to National Air Traffic Services, which controls the UK airspace and has the power to prevent airlines from flying. A spokesman said it visibility was not the problem, rather the damage it could cause aeroplanes.

"It is the affect it would have on the aircraft engines. It's a very abrasive substance and essentially it clogs the air intakes and eventually shuts them down."

9.11am:

More from Severin Carrell on the effect of the volcano on the general election campaign (I didn't think I'd be writing that when I woke up this morning):

The cancellation of flights has now had a severe impact on election campaigning in Scotland, for Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories, with all the main parties hurriedly trying to rearrange high profile visits from senior figures flying up from London.

After the Lib Dems confirmed that a visit by Treasury spokesman Vince Cable to Edinburgh and Dunfermline had been scrapped, the defence secretary Bob Ainsworth had to cancel a visit to Rosyth dockyard to campaign for Labour's candidate and the Tories abandoned Ken Clarke's trip to the Borders.

The Tories are still hoping Clarke will visit other parts of Scotland later today and are searching for alternative travel plans, but admit it will be difficult. "We're trying to fire up the Quattro," said one official, referring to the 80s cop drama character Gene Hunt in Ashes to Ashes. The fictional detective featured in the Labour campaign poster which backfired spectacularly earlier this month when Labour tried to portray Tory leader David Cameron as the homophobic, sexist Hunt, failing to realise he was a hugely popular anti-hero.

The growing disruption is also likely to force the Lib Dems to cancel tomorrow's plans to launch their Scottish general election manifesto in Shetland, the islands constituency of party leader Tavish Scott, who is also heavily dependent on air services.

9.14am:

ALL FLIGHTS IN AND OUT OF HEATHROW AND STANSTED SUSPENDED FROM 12.00PM

Just received the following email from a BAA spokesperson:

"Due to airspace restrictions, in accordance with international regulations as a result of the on-going volcanic activity in Iceland, we anticipate that all flights in and out of Heathrow and Stansted airports will be suspended from 1200 today. Therefore, we strongly advise passengers intending to fly from this time not to travel to the airport today. We will provide further updates as we get more information from air traffic control provider NATS.

9.21am:

Sky News is covering the disruption live from various locations. This video, showing an interjection from a man wearing a hooded-top bearing the legend "Hooters", is from Edinburgh airport. The Sky reporter handles it impeccably.

9.44am:

@malacara quite rightly corrects me for claiming the image below and the Flickr group I linked to are from the Eyjafjallajokull glacier.

"Umm, actually, that flickr group just shows photos of the earlier eruption in Fimmvörðuháls, which was quite "touristy". This one is not this pretty and photographers can't get anywhere close to it to take snapshots."

Malacra has kindly posted a spectacular photo that is from the recent eruption, as well as an equally impressive video, which will follow.

Just to recap, the cancellation of all flights from Heathrow and Stansted will cause disruption to tens of thousands of people.

Heathrow alone operates 1,300 flights in and out of its five terminals a day.

"There is going to be significant disruption, particularly in the peak periods later on," said a spokesman.

Stansted operates 400 to 450 flights to and from the airport each day. A spokesman said it was hard to say how many would be affected.

"Fortunately we have got past our busiest departure period," he said.

"But this has the potential to affect flights tomorrow and beyond, depending on how long the restrictions are in place."

Not even the Great Britain Ice Hockey Supporters Club are safe from flight disruption, the Press Association reports.

Around 50 members of the club, heading for the world championships in Slovenia are stranded at Stansted.

The club's merchandising secretary, Gordon McQuade, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said a party of supporters had been due to fly out this morning.

"The championships are taking place in Ljubljana but we are actually flying to Trieste because ironically Ljubljana airport is closed because the runway is being resurfaced.

"We were due to fly out with Ryanair this morning. All we have been told is that the flight is cancelled and we are just waiting to hear what is going to happen."

10.00am:

The volcano has caused disruption across northern Europe, with all air traffic in northern Sweden suspended, affecting the cities of Skelleftea, Lulea, Kiruna and Hemavan, according to the national aviation authority.

Air traffic in northern Finland was also halted.

In Norway, King Harald V and Queen Sonja, who had planned to fly to Copenhagen for the Danish queen's 70th birthday, were faced with travelling by "car, boat or train" after the Norwegian airport operator Avinor said it was closing all commercial airspace, royal family spokesman Sven Gjeruldsen said.

A canceled trans-Atlantic flight left Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg grounded in New York, where he had been meeting with Norwegian businessmen.

In Ireland's Ryanair has cancelled all of its flights in and out of Britain through today, but said it would try to operate some flights out of southern Ireland. The national carrier, Aer Lingus, canceled at least 40 flights in or out of Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast.

10.19am:

News breaking from Associated Press: "Civil aviation officials say no flights allowed in British airspace from 1100GMT due to ash."

(Heathrow and Stansted had already said they would cancel flights from this time, but this news that no flights will be allowed in beyond 12pm (BST) is fresh. I'll try and get clarification on this shortly.

Meanwhile Jill Insley, head of the Guardian's consumer team, was at Gatwick this morning and spoke to some passengers whose flights have been cancelled.

I spoke to a couple, Johann and Carrie Sikora, from near Ashford in Kent who were due to be flying to Verona at 12pm, for the wedding of two friends. Carrie is the bride's bridesmaid, and Johann is the best friend of the groom. They've been told they won't be able to get out there today, and that there'll be no flights tomorrow. With the wedding due to take place tomorrow afternoon, they're desperately trying to get the train to Verona instead. "Its not really sunk in yet, but I'm gutted," said Johann, however he was quite prosaic on the reasons for the cancellation.

"If we'd missed the flight because of the traffic I'd have been have been disappointed, but this morning when I turned the TV on I couldn't believe my eyes." Carrie was on the phone to the bride, who said her close family were in Verona, and two friends, but the rest of wedding party, including all the groom's family, were stuck in Britain.

10.37am:

Reader Tim emails in: "My son Sam (aged 8) wants to know all the science stuff, not the travel stuff - he's not interested in flight cancellations (and rightly so). So on behalf of Sam, can anyone tell me what VEI of the eruption is????"

Seeing as you put four question marks, I thought I should oblige. My colleague James Meikle received the following this morning from the Science Media Centre.

Dr. Thor Thordarson, Volcanologist, University of Edinburgh, said:

"Since the New Year, unrest in the form of seismic activity and inflation has intensified beneath the Eyjafjoll volcano in South Iceland and eruption(s) has been expected. The 20.03.2010 - 12.04.2010 event was a small basaltic fissure eruption on the lower east flanks of the Eyjafjoll volcano, whereas the one that began this morning emerged from fissures (vents) within the summit crater and extended just outside its southern rim."

Dr Dave McGarvie, Volcanologist, The Open University, said:

"This wasn't unexpected because the eruption that took place last month between two ice caps has diverted off to the east and erupted again at the current site. It is essentially the same eruption which has found a new pathway to the surface. The eruption this time is coming through 150 metres of ice, melting it and pouring water down to the north – the rivers will be carrying as much water as they would in the peak of a Spring melt. "The eruption can now develop in three ways:

• It will melt ice, go on for a time and then die out, and nothing more will happen.

• It will stimulate a larger eruption which will release a new batch of magma – this has happened in the past and is the worst case scenario. In this instance, the resulting ash cloud would disrupt international travel with flight paths being diverted.

• It stimulates lava flow to come out which will melt a canyon in the ice to low lying regions. This previously happened in the ninth century."

10.50am:

Denmark's air space will close from 4pm GMT, according to Danish aviation officials.

Meanwhile, the National Air Traffic Service has said the UK's airspace will be closed for 6 hours this afternoon.

"From midday today until at least 6pm, there will be no flights permitted in UK controlled airspace other than emergency situations," a spokesman said.

"This has been applied in accordance with international civil aviation policy.

"We continue to monitor the situation with the Met Office and work closely with airline customers and adjoining countries."

11.16am:

This video is from Eumetsat, which monitors weather and climate from space. You can see the volcanic ash drifting ominously over to the UK.

My colleague Lee Glendinning has emailed to point out that the Guardian ran a piece last week on volcano tourism, which was timely.

Meanwhile the intrepid David Munk, who travelled to Mount Yasur, a 350m high volcano on the island of Tanna, in the South Pacific in 2008, has some advice:

I was told by my guide on the rim of the crater that when a big explosion happened look up in the air. If a piece of lava appears to be moving it won't hit you. If it appears to be floating in the air then its coming straight at you so start running. Not suggesting that lava will rain on London - but you never know when tips like that can come in handy.

Here's David's video of Yasur erupting.

11.22am:

The seriousness of the situation has been brought sharply into focus by Conservative party leader David Cameron, who has fearlessly condemned the volcanic ash as it threatens to descend upon these fair British Isles.

Cameron, on the election campaign trail in Halifax, said it was a "very worrying" situation.

"It is very worrying news. Our first thoughts must be with the emergency services who will have lot of work to do, and with all those who were planning to travel for work or holidays who have been grounded or delayed and whose arrangements have been thrown into such a difficult situation. It does look a very worrying and difficult situation and obviously we have got to do everything we can to ease the burden on people."

11.40am:

Valur Gunnarsson, a reporter in Reykjavic, has been telling us about the situation on the ground.

We heard last night that all flights had been cancelled to northern Norway but this is the first I've heard about the effects on the UK. Over here, a big concern is flooding - the volcano is in the middle of a glacier. Seven hundred people were evacuated last night. The volcano has chunks of glacier to fall off and the flooding has caused infrastructure damage costing some 100m kronor. The other big fear is that of a chain reaction with an eruption at another volcano called Katla. Lots of people went to look at the eruption and some people got stuck and had to be rescued. The Norwegian ambassador had to be rescued as our finance minister who had to be taken out by helicopter.

11.50am:

Met office projections of the plume of Ash rising from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Iceland. Click image for full graphic. (Clockwise) 0600 GMT, 1200 GMT, Midnight, 1800 GMT

Image from the Met Office predicting the spread of ash through today.

Top left: how the ash cloud was at 0600 on 2010/04/15 (today)

Top right: at 1200

Bottom left: at 1800

Bottom right: at midnight tonight.

There's more on the Met Office's website on how volcanic ash forecasting works.

12.08pm:

Aircraft traffic as of 12pm (BST) - from Flightradar24.com Photograph: www.flightradar24.com/guardian.co.uk

Picture from Flightradar24.com, where you can watch live aircraft traffic in Europe. The image shows the last few flights departing/arriving in southern England.

There's more information on the picture below on Simon Rogers Datablog. Simon's also pointed out that "volcanos are erupting all over the world, all the time".

He's put a link to the Global Volcanism Program, which compiles a rolling tally of volcanic activity across the globe.

12.13pm:

Hilary Osborne, editor of guardian.co.uk's money site, has very kindly sent some advice on what to do if your flight is cancelled.



If your flight is cancelled then your airline should offer you a choice: you can either cancel your booking and get a refund, or rebook on a new flight. If it's part of a package deal, and the alternative flight the airline offers will make a big difference to your holiday, you should be entitled to cancel the whole deal and get a refund. However, if you have booked only a flight and its cancellation will mean you lose money you have spent on accommodation or transport arranged at your destination, your airline is not obliged to refund you. You will have to check your travel insurance to find out if you can make a claim. A spokeswoman for RBS says customers with insurance bought through Direct Line, Churchill and RBS will be covered, but they should contact their airline, travel company or hotel firm first to see if they are making alternative arrangements.

12.30pm:

I've had a couple of emails asking if the ash poses a health risk, and my colleague James Meikle has been investigating.

The Health Protection Agency says the plume "is not a significant risk to public health because it is at high altitude".

"The HPA will continue to monitor the plume's movement although is not expected to touch ground over the UK in the near future.

Even if the plume does drop towards the ground the concentrations of particles at ground level are not likely to cause significant effects on health.

Rainfall over the UK could cause a small amount of the ash to be deposited over the country but quantities are expected to be too small to cause health effects."

Asthma UK has seconded this, stressing that while volcanic ash "can trigger asthma symptoms in people with asthma," at the moment it is too high to pose a problem.

"We advise people with asthma to monitor the news closely and ensure they keep their reliever inhaler on them at all times," said Cher Piddock from Asthma UK.

"If people are concerned about their condition, they can speak to an asthma nurse specialist on our Adviceline, on 0800 121 62 44," she added.

Prof Ken Donaldson, professor of respiratory toxicology, University of Edinburgh, has also moved to allay health concerns.

"Volcanic ash is on the whole not a very harmful material and the ash is currently more than 10km up in the stratosphere, where aeroplanes fly. It will eventually dissipate by dilution in the huge air mass in the stratosphere. The risk to members of the UK public and the population of the world generally from these ash exposures is negligible. Even people who are in the plume of volcanoes where the ash comes to earth and they wade through it like snow, show very little adverse health effects."

12.36pm:

More from Valur Gunnarsson, reporter on the ground in Reykjavic, on the flood the volcano caused yesterday:

Up to 800 people had to be evacuated from around the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southern Iceland. The eruption comes from within a glacier and as this has melted, flooding has occurred in the surrounding area. Around one fifth of the ice in the crater is thought to have melted, so further flooding is expected as more ice turns to water. The flood headed in the direction of Highway 1, the ringroad which surrounds the island. The walls that were in place to protect the road have been damaged, but have largely held up. A newly built bridge was thought to be in danger, and so a construction crew working on a nearby harbour was ordered into action. The construction men dug holes in the highway in four different places, thereby affecting the direction of the flood. "The guy on the Caterpillar really earned his pay," said Minister of Finance Steingrimur Sigfusson to Frettabladid newspaper while taking a break from the ongoing banking crisis yesterday to witness the events.

12.54pm:

I've just spoken to a Met Office spokesman regarding the likelihood of flights resuming today. He said he would "expect flights to be cancelled tomorrow".

"It is mainly to do with the eruption and how long it is going to be expelling the dust and ash," he said.

The National Air Traffic Service has suspended flights in and out of UK airspace from 12pm until 6pm, but the Met Office spokesman said "flights will probably be suspended for longer".

"The dust cloud will be above us through today and through tomorrow, and potentially into the weekend," he said.

"It depends on how much dust and ash has come from the eruption.

"But I definitely expect flights to be cancelled tomorrow."

Her added: "The only thing we'll really notice at ground level is a spectacular sunset, especially for nothern parts of the UK."

13.08pm:

One of the previous volcanoes in Iceland may have sparked the French Revolution, writes Valur Gunnarsson, reporter in Reykjavic:

This may not be the first time in history that a volcano in Iceland affects the rest of Europe. The largest to take place on the island so far happened in 1787. Some historians suggest that this led to crop failures all over Europe, leading to the French Revolution in 1789.

It was the Laki volcano that erupted in 1787. Abel Covarrubias has written about this on his blog:

"After several years of extreme weather in Europe caused by the Laki eruption, the ensuing destruction of crops and livestock brought famine and poverty that built up in France, triggering the Revolution which began in 1789."

1.19pm:

We've had a few questions on Twitter as to why planes cannot take off from the UK heading south – seeing as the ash is making its way down from the north.

Hopefully this Guardian graphic helps to show how much of the ash is already over the south of England.

The image from the Met Office (see 11.50am) also shows how the ash is covering the country (all be it at a very high altitude). For clarification on that diagram, the red lines indicate ash at 20,000ft, green show the movement of ash at 20,000-35,000ft and blue is ash between 35,000-55,000ft.

Charles Arthur's piece on just how damaging volcanic ash can be for planes should also explain why so much caution is being taken.

The National Air Traffic Service told me earlier that it was not just the risk of planes crashing that led to its decision to suspend traffic in and out of UK airspace, but also the damage that could be caused to aircraft over a longer term of 2-3 years.

1.34pm:

Brussels airport has just cancelled all outgoing flights due to drifting volcanic ash, according to Associated Press.

The airport's website has actually crashed, but apparently it was reporting flights are cancelled throughout today.

Passengers have been told no planes will depart.

1.53pm:

With flights to Scotland from elsewhere in the UK off limits, it seems people have been turning to road and rail. The Guardian's transport correspondent Dan Milmo has emailed me this from National Express, whose coaches are fully booked today following the cancellation of flights.



National Express coach services to / from Scotland and London Heathrow are full today (15 April).

Extra coaches have been added to the network for tomorrow and more coaches will be added to cater for the required demand.

National Express also operates coaches to and from all major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, East Midlands, Bristol and Luton.

All National Express coach services are operating as normal.

Meanwhile a spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies confirmed train companies are experiencing "an increase in demand".

"It's deeply regrettable that the cloud of volcanic ash is causing disruption to people's travel plans. "Train companies are experiencing an increase in demand as air passengers shift to rail services. "Where it's possible, operators are looking into what can be done to provide extra services to help stranded air passengers to get around the country as quickly and easily as possible."

2.02pm:

Blog readers concerned that eight-year-old Sam's thirst for knowledge (see 10.37am) has gone unquenched can relax.

The Guardian's environment correspondent, David Adam, has kindly supplied a piece explaining volcanic eruptions: "Volcanic eruptions and ash clouds explained"

Magma usually lies as pressurised pools of molten rock deep beneath the Earth's surface. During an eruption it rises. This drops the pressure and gas dissolved in the magma starts to emerge and forms bubbles, just as it does in champagne when a cork is released. The bubbles cause the magma to froth violently and burst out as a volcanic eruption. When the boiling fragments of liquid magma hit the cold air they freeze into individual dust particles, driven upwards towards the high atmosphere by the power and heat of the eruption. As the turbulent torrent rushes out it rips and pulverises rocks from the volcano, adding to the growing cloud of ash.

2.16pm:

More from David Adam's volcanic piece:



The dust can also help reduce global warming. The effect of the Iceland ash cloud will be small but larger eruptions help to cool the planet as they reflect sunlight back into space. The 1815 eruption of Mt Tambora in Indonesia produced so much volcanic ash that it triggered the "year without a summer" that brought widespread failure of harvests across Europe, famine and economic collapse.

The "year without a summer" was mentioned in Lord Byron's poem Darkness. I know that because of this tweet:

RT @will_tooke: @qikipedia 'The bright sun was extinguished, and the

stars Did wander darkling in the eternal space' Lord Byron, Darkness

1815 #ashtag

2.36pm:

No flights will be allowed in or out of the UK until 6am tomorrow "at the earliest," the national air traffic service has said.

Here's the full statement which has been posted on Nats website:

The cloud of volcanic ash is now spread across the UK and continuing to travel south. In line with international civil aviation policy, no flights other than agreed emergencies are currently permitted in UK controlled airspace. Following a review of the latest Met Office information, NATS advises that these restrictions will remain in place in UK controlled airspace until 0600 tomorrow, Friday 16 April, at the earliest. We will review further Met Office information and at 2000 today (local) we will advise the arrangements that will be in place through to 1200 tomorrow. We continue to work closely with airports, airlines, and the rest of Europe to understand and mitigate the implications of the volcanic eruption.

Countries across northern Europe have now closed their airspace.

Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport says Dutch airspace will close at 6pm (BST). The airport says on its website that air traffic to and from the Netherlands will be scaled down in the coming hours and will be shut down entirely from 7pm (6pm BST).

"I can't say how long it will last. As long as necessary," Marjolein Wenting of the Netherlands' Air Traffic Control agency said on RTL television. "This is unique for the Netherlands."

Airspaces in Ireland, northern Sweden and Norway have all been closed since this morning (see 10.00am), and Denmark's airspace will be shut from 5pm BST.

3.00pm:

Nats has just announced flights to and from the UK will actually be suspended until 7.00am (BST) tomorrow, not 6am.

They will review Met Office information and at 8pm today will advise the arrangements that will be in place through to 1pm tomorrow (not 12pm as earlier stated).

A Nats spokesman in the UK told the Press Association earlier:

"No one can remember a time before when controlled airspace has been closed in the UK.

"This is certainly one of the most significant instances of flight restrictions in living memory."

"We certainly do not think we have over-reacted. Safety is our main priority and volcanic ash is a serious threat to aircraft."

3.19pm:

Time for some emails. David Hickmott has sent this:

"I'm half hoping for mushroom cloud-esque, apocalytpic darkness. Possible rain of fire. Will I be massively disappointed when London just looks a tad hazy?"

Yes, I'm afraid you will be disappointed.

This is from James Neill, who has spotted a little plane on Flightradar:

So just what is so special about this lonely little Cessna still

flying over London?? Call sign TWF63 = G-JBIS = a Cessna 550 Citation

http://twitpic.com/1frbfg

Liz Bury has also been in touch:

Do you know if there's any suggestion, or evidence to suggest, that this eruption is linked to climate change?

Can anyone help James and Liz?

Meanwhile, four of this weekend's Carnegie Challenge Cup ties involving French sides are under threat due to the ash, and Great Britain's preparations for the ice hockey world championships in Slovenia have also been hit following the volcanic eruption.

The squad were due to fly out of Gatwick Airport tomorrow morning before playing the opening game of Division One Group B against Croatia at 1pm on Saturday.

My colleague Helen Pidd, who is trying to get to Berlin, emails to say she has been thwarted in her attempts to travel by Eurostar. They are full, and she was only able to get on one at 8am tomorrow.



In other Guardian-employee-related-travel-news, my own flight from Gatwick to the Isle of Man, booked for 7:35pm tomorrow, is in the balance.

Why not send your travel woes? Email: adam.gabbatt@guardian.co.uk or Twitter: @adamgabbatt

3.41pm:

Lots of emails waiting for me upon my return from an (unsuccessful) Kit Kat-buying trip.

Don't worry Liz Bury, it seems the eruption is not linked to climate change:

Roy Allen writes:

There is absolutely no possible causal link between volcanic eruptions or earthquakes and climate change.

Zero. Nada, Zilch. Completely unconnected phenomena.

And from Owain Shave:

please tell Liz Bury - No , absolutley no link to climate change.

Volcanoes erupt. They've done so since the earth was formed, and will

continue to do so long after we're gone. If you want to geek out, there is a slight seasonality to volcanic

eruptions, thought to be due to loading/unloading by the weight of ice

as the ice grows and retreats, but the major drivers of volcanism

(plate tectonics and mantle plumes) have absolutely nothing to do with

climate change.

And not wanting to leave James Neill feeling left out, Bill Spring has emailed regarding the mysterious low-flying plane.



1. The Cessna will be flying at a few hundred feet. Commercial flights would be flying at a height of several thousand metres where the ash cloud is thicker. 2. Cessna's don't have jet engines. 3. Cessna's are not flying at several hundred miles an hour. So a little slow old Cessna can potter around without any problems.

Thanks also to all the people who responded to Liz and James's queries in the comments section.

3.53pm:

London Evening Standard ash cloud coverage.

The London Evening Standard has hit our office. The newspaper is certainly not underplaying the volcanic ash saga.

"Million passengers hit by worst chaos since second world war," reads their subheading.

4.00pm:

Earlier (11.22am) David Cameron described the volcanic ash plumes as "very worrying".

Not to be outdone, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stressed that "the safety of our population is of the highest importance".



"It [the suspension of flights] is a temporary decision. It will be reviewed at all times. "But safety is the first and predominant consideration, and if any travelling public are inconvenienced I apologise for that, but it is important that everybody's safety comes first."

4.12pm:

A number of airports in France are now closed. The French Civil Aviation authority says that Paris' main airport and nearly two dozen others are closing due to volcanic ash.

The Civil Aviation authority cites security reasons for the decision.

4.26pm:

Possibly the worst travel woe I have heard so far, sent to me by @hutchaye on Twitter:

Travel woes-Christmas in Paris nearly ruined due to Eurostar snow debacle. Surprise weekend 4 gfs bday in Portugal in ruins

However other travel woes are available, this is from Paul Rutherford:

I was meant to be flying to Inverness from London for a Stag Weekend in the Highlands tomorrow morning. Booked up on the 12 hour overnight bus instead.

And this from Michael Crooks:

Does this mean my own Barcelona-Dublin-Aer Arann trip to the Isle of Man

tomorrow is also in the balance?

PS We'll probably be in The Saddle on the quay if you're bored. Which you will be.

And Tom Stainer from CAMRA reports that members could see their own Isle of Man travel plans disrupted:

Thanks for keeping us informed throughout the day – with CAMRA's AGM/Members' Weekend due to take place on the IOM this weekend, there's another 1,000 or so real ale fans with their travel plans also in the balance thanks to The Cloud. Fingers crossed we all get out there tomorrow! (if you're struggling, have you checked the Steam Packet ferry times from Liverpool?) And if you fancy a pint and some good pub suggestions while you're out there, give me a bell.

Elsewhere, Matthew J Owen has sent a riposte to Roy Allen's earlier reply to Liz Bury's question ("Do you know if there's any suggestion, or evidence to suggest, that this eruption is linked to climate change?")

[To Rory Allen's answer that] 'There is absolutely no possible causal link between volcanic eruptions or

earthquakes and climate change. Zero. Nada, Zilch. Completely unconnected

phenomena' ...I would like to add a caveat. Whilst I agree that there is no link between our current global warming

trend and volcanic and earthquake activity, this is certainly not the case

on geologic timescales. On several fronts really, by I will limit myself to a couple: 1/ Pinatubo eruption, an example of a volcano erupting ash high into the

atmosphere, reflecting the sun's radiation and leading to a short lived

cooling of the Earth's climate. 2/ Instances in the distance past where large scale (i.e. half the size of

India) eruptions are believed to have caused catastrophic climate change

by releasing huge volumes of Methane into the atmosphere (such as the

Deccan traps). 3/ During deglaciations - changes in the stress on the Earth's crust

caused by melting ice and rising sea-levels causing increased occurrences

of volcanic eruptions. So, this eruption in Iceland is not being caused by climate change, but if

it pumps it's emissions high enough into the atmosphere it could have an

influence on our climate over the next year or so.

4.42pm:

Some dispute over the accuracy of Bill Spring's answer to James Neill's question earlier. (See 3.41pm).

Geoff Whitworth:

I hate to disagree with Bill Spring and get all train spottery, but that plane is a Cessna Citation, not a 172 or the like. It's a big ass twin engined executive jet. Here's a photo: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Cessna-550-Citation/1423263/L/&sid=f1f79bbca4836f5d6bc6f4b52e1e010c So why is it still in the air?

Nick Evans:

Actually, the Cessna Citation is a business jet and so Bill Spring is entirely wrong, in every respect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_II

And Philip Benson:



Hi Adam,

Bad news about the Kit Kat!

I'm not one to normally correct things, but as a former pilot I want to mention that the Cessna Citation 500 is a small JET powered Biz-Jet... not powered by a piston engine, as you write...

So what was this Cessna Citation doing in supposedly restricted UK airspace?

4.58pm:

Right, some final travel woes, firstly from Gordon McKenzie:

I am supposed to be flying back from JFK to Paris then Birmingham tonight. I can't get any information about what is happening - the online check-in isn't working for unspecified reasons, and ringing Air France at JFK gets a recorded message that the office is closed, despite the recording going on to give opening hours indicating it should be open.

Depends on the airport in Paris, but I think you're going to struggle (see 4.12pm). And you definitely won't be able to fly in to Birmingham until 7am tomorrow at the earliest.

From Ian McDonough:

Hi there, a mention to my mate Rob Griffiths. He lives in Cologne and cannot get back home to Chester for his 50th birthday. We'll have a few beers here Rob.

(Happy birthday Rob).

Dan Ashley:

Is the cloud getting lighter as it heads south? Am I in danger of not being able to fly to Lanzarote from Luton on Sunday?

And finally, dave_digger tweets:



@adamgabbatt Any suggestions from readers how to get to Vienna? Got a wedding on Saturday & all bar the Bride still in the UK. Bad times!

Right that's it for today, thanks for all the emails, comments and tweets, sorry I couldn't post them all.

I'll be back tomorrow, with bag packed and fingers crossed. Good luck to everyone hoping to travel tonight.