The ash cloud has descended to a few thousand feet above sea level and any exposure to it can cause a jet engine to fail catastrophically sending the plane plummeting to the ground with all on board.
Cryptozoologist Professor Kettle, based at his Loch Ness project, is characteristically sanguine: “this could be worse. We can safely put boats and probes out on the water and a few of my international colleagues have managed to arrive on the twelve hour coach ride from London”.
Dr Pott also welcomed the opportunities for cryptid hunting provided by the silent sky: “normally our advanced hydrophone arrays suffer terribly from the whoosh of RAF fighter planes on test flights over Loch Ness and even the Flybe and Easyjet planes travelling to and from Inverness can clearly be heard within the loch. Cryptozoology reies on sensitive equipment and measurements so this is a rare opportunity to listen for Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, within a comparatively silent loch.