Volcanic ash following an eruption in Iceland is causing chaos at UK airports.

BAA has told passengers not to travel to any of its Scottish airports because of a swathe of volcanic ash which is drifting across the UK following the violent eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland.

The Met Office has advised the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) to restrict flights in and out of the UK as volcanic ash begins to drift across the country from Iceland.

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which sits under a glacier in Iceland, erupted for the second time in less than a month yesterday (14 April) causing a mass evacuation of nearby towns and  road closures around the area.

“This is a very much more violent eruption, because it’s interacting with ice and water,” said Andy Russell, an expert in glacial flooding at the University of Newcastle in northern England. “It becomes much more explosive, instead of a nice lava flow oozing out of the ground.”

A Nats spokesman said: “The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre has issued a forecast that the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland will track over Europe tonight.

“Nats is working with Eurocontrol and our colleagues in Europe’s other air navigation service providers to take the appropriate action to ensure safety in accordance with international aviation policy.”

BAA issued a statement on its website confirming that although the restrictions issued by Nats primarily affect its Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports the ash could cause widespread disruption. It added: “Passengers are instructed not to travel to the Scottish airports. All arriving and departing flights are currently suspended.”

British Airways (BA) has published information on its website to say that all London airports have also been closed. It said that after 11.30 BST no services will be operated from London Heathrow, Gatwick or London City and all BA domestic services have been cancelled for today (15 April).

BA said: “The safety of our customers, crew and aircraft is of paramount importance and will not be compromised. Customers booked to travel on a cancelled flight can claim a full refund or choose one of the other options available.”

If you are a BA passenger you can find more information by clicking here, or if you are flying with any other airline the advice is to contact them directly.

BAA confirmed it will be issuing further updates as it receives more information.