PRIVATE AVIATION LIFTS ASH CLOUD UNCERTAINTY
Leading online private jet network, PrivateFly.com has reported a surge in online enquiries in the last 24 hours from both leisure and business passengers, left stranded by Scottish air travel restrictions imposed as a result of the ash cloud from the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland.
Many airlines have cancelled flights to and from Scotland and, with other UK and European airspace on alert, travelers are looking at alternative options in order to return home or make crucial meetings.
Adam Twidell, PrivateFly's CEO comments: "We've seen a significant increase in enquiries for flights to and from Scotland in the last 24 hours. As we saw so clearly during last year's ash cloud travel chaos, the flexibility of private charter is a real boon to travelers during this type of uncertainty. Depending on the levels of ash concentration, many smaller aircraft may be able to fly in affected airspace, including piston-engine and turbo-propeller aircraft and low altitude jets.
"The situation is very fluid and changing by the hour and, while many private flights are also affected, the flexibility of private aviation means that schedules can be adapted at very short notice to change destinations when 'gaps' in the ash cloud emerge, including the ability to land or depart from many more airports. For example there are 33 Scottish airports which can be accessed by private charter flights as opposed to only five used by airlines for external routes.
"In addition when restrictions are lifted, private flights can be operational again in minutes, whereas airlines can take days to recover with so many aircraft out of position and huge passenger backlogs to clear".