As train passengers race to beat the 6.30pm shutdown on the latest rail strike day, thousands of travellers who opted to fly to and from Glasgow airport instead were scuppered by the closure of the runway for almost the whole morning.
Two British Airways flights were diverted to Prestwick airport, 30 miles south, while Ryanair links from Dublin and Krakow landed in Edinburgh. KLM’s morning flight from Amsterdam to Glasgow also touched down in the Scottish capital. An Iberia regional jet from Perpignan landed in Newcastle.
Many other inbound flights, including British Airways from Heathrow and easyJet from Amsterdam, Belfast, Bristol, Luton and Stansted, were cancelled.
The biggest plane of the day, an Emirates Boeing 777 from Dubai on Glasgow, was due in at 11.30am but after holding for half-an-hour touched down just before 12 noon. The outbound service at 1.20pm will be delayed, jeopardising onward connections in Dubai.
At least 23 departures were cancelled, mainly on domestic services.
The airports said: “Passengers should continue to check with their airlines regarding the status of their flights.
“We would like to thank our passengers for their continued patience and will provide further updates.”
Thousands of passengers waited in the terminal. Some flights due out early on Friday are still expected to leave, including British Airways to Heathrow, Jet2 to Rome and Tenerife and KLM to Amsterdam.
Gary Pringle tweeted: “How is it possible to be so unprepared for weather you knew was coming? Out clearing the runway for 12 hours apparently.
“Only in Scotland.”
The airport responded: “Even when we know snow is forecast, it still has to be physically cleared from the runway and taxiways.
Our winter teams have been in place since midnight working incredibly hard to do this.”
The last departure before the closure was a Ryanair flight to Dublin that took off at 11.34pm. The final arrival was an air ambulance from Bordeaux which touched down at 1.44am.
Travellers whose flights are cancelled or heavily delayed are protected by European air passengers’ rights rules.
They are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible – and must be provided with meals, and if necessary accommodation, until they are able to travel.
Earlier this month Glasgow airport was closed for several hours because a suspicious item was found at a security checkpoint.
