I am sure you will have heard on the media that Grimsvotn volcano has erupted and is causing problems for flights in Scotland with Loganair cancelling 36 flights today. Obviously, the recent media attention has had meant a number of worried airline passengers have emailed me asking for advice – please read latest updates below.

Check with the airline/tour operator

Last year a number of consumers cancelled their flight, this meant that they were not able to claim on their travel insurance, receive a refund, or alternative flight by the airline, so my advice is do not panic, you should check the airline or tour operators site for the latest news.

Check your holiday paperwork for the ATOL logo – this will mean that you are financially protected and the tour operator should make arrangements to get you home should your flight be affected.

Updates on the volcanic ash cloud

Airports likely to be affected from 1300 to 1900 BST include Londonderry, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick, Durham Tees Valley, Newcastle and Carlisle.

Regulation (EC) 261/2004 requires airlines to offer you meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation as appropriate whilst you wait for a rearranged flight. The airlines may claim ‘extraordinary circumstances’ which might mean they avoid paying compensation but they do have a duty of care.

You can complain about an airline with the Air Transport Users Council who are the UK’s consumer watchdog for the aviation industry, or the European Commission for transport via their website or telephone 00 800 678 910 11 from anywhere. The European commission produced a leaflet to be displayed at European Airports

Regular updates by NATS

The NATS website has regular updates too. Please feel free to ask any questions regarding the Grímsvötn volcanic ash cloud in the comments section and I will try and answer them or direct you to other useful sources.

If your airline does not offer a duty of care, i.e food/drink or accommodation and airport transfers then I would like to know about your booking. This is a breach of an EU law and I would like to gather cases of where the airlines have broken Regulation (EC) 261/2004 during this volcanic ash cloud travel issues.

Updated: 24 May 12:16pm

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