Flights fog bound

WHILE the rest of Britain basks in sunshine and clear blue skies, thick fog is throwing air transport in and out of Shetland into chaos.

On Tuesday no helicopters were flying oil workers to and from the rigs in the East Shetland Basin and flights in and out of Scatsta oil airport were down to a minimum.

Staff at Sumburgh airport said that there was a lot of disruption, but most flights were managing to land or take off during gaps in the low cloud.

Bristow Helicopters base manager at Scatsta, Colin Jones, said: “We have not had a run of weather like this for a good few years.

“The last time we had this level of disruption was with the volcanic ash from Iceland in 2010.

“It’s frustrating for everyone offshore and its frustrating for us here.”

Meanwhile Shetland Islands Council leader was stuck in Orkney waiting for his flight home to take off, tweeting a photo of aircraft stacking up at Kirkwall airport.

At Tingwall airport no one was authorised to say how flights had been affected by the weather and flight operators Direct Flight said they could not comment.