British Airways is conducting a verification flight to help determine procedures to continue flying in accordance with risk assessment methodology developed by ICAO, the global aviation governing body, over the last 12 months.
The flight will produce data that should help the understanding of the limitations of the models being used to forecast ash dispersal.
The flight, by a British Airways Airbus A320, departed from Manchester airport this evening to fly toward the Newcastle area and then over Glasgow and Edinburgh before heading south and arriving at London Heathrow.
The aircraft, and its flight performance, will then be subject to detailed inspection and analysis overnight by the airline’s engineers. All data will be made available to the CAA.
We regret the cancellation of today’s services between London and Scotland, and London and Newcastle. These cancellations were made entirely on the basis of the information given to us by the CAA and the Met Office.
We expect flights to all areas, including Scotland, to operate normally today.
