WITH the reopening of the country’s airspace today (Wednesday), it is hoped Potters Bar schoolchildren on an Easter rugby trip in South Africa will return home tomorrow.
It was feared the Lochniver House School boys would be stranded in Cape Town due to the flight ban imposed following the Icelandic volcano eruption last week.
Planes were grounded and airports across Europe forced to close after the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southern Iceland erupted, sending a plume of volcanic ash thousands of feet into the atmosphere, affecting flightpaths.
However, with the flight ban lifted, the 24 pupils and three teachers should be able to fly home on their scheduled flight from Cape Town at 6.40pm today, arriving in Heathrow at 6.30am tomorrow (Thursday).
A spokeswoman for the Heath Road school said: “As the flight ban has been lifted, everything seems ok and it is hoped the pupils will be on the flight as scheduled this evening”.
For more on the disruptions caused by the volcanic ash cloud, see this week’s Potters Bar Edition, out today.
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