Cloud from Icelandic volcano brings Scottish airports to a standstill

• Smoke billows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland

The move came as a huge cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland drifted into UK airspace forcing Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh airports to cancel flights.

The cloud comprising ash and glass particles posed a major threat to aircraft, but last night experts were unable to predict how long the restrictions were likely to last. Airports urged travellers to contact their airlines to check whether flights were affected.

Aberdeen Airport said a planned closure of airspace from midnight was expected to have a "considerable impact" on flight arrivals and departures.

An airport spokeswoman said: "The closure will come into effect locally at midnight and may also spread to other parts of Scotland. It has been ordered by the air traffic control service Nats – as a result of volcanic ash which is drifting towards the country from Iceland."

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: "Safety advice from air traffic control suggests that airspace will be closed until further notice. Passengers should check flight details with their airline or at BAA.com"

• An aerial handout photo from the Icelandic Coast Guard shows a plume of steam rising 22,000 feet (6700 meters) from a crater under about 656 feet (200 metres) of ice at the Eyjafjallajokull

Airlines also issued warnings of potential disruption.

A spokeswoman for easyJet said: "Following the eruption of a volcano in Iceland earlier today, the Met Office have advised airlines that the ash plume may reach UK airspace overnight. As a result this may cause significant disruption to flights departing the UK tomorrow. EasyJet passengers are advised to check the website before they leave for the airport for any disruption information."

Forecasters also said the ash could take a number of days to

disperse.

Matt Dobson, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "The concern is that as well as the eruption, the jet stream passing through Iceland is passing in a south easterly direction, which will bring ash to the north of Scotland and Denmark and Norway. But it is impossible to say how much ash will come down.

It could be a threat in these areas from now until tomorrow or Friday."

The volcano situated under a glacier erupted yesterday for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, spewing smoke and steam, closing a major road and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters.

Civil protection official Agust Gunnar Gylfason said emergency workers rescued some 70 tourists and visitors trapped near the volcano since Wednesday morning.