Updated at 12pm BST
Blue Skies has announced that it has restarted production at its factories as some airlines operating in and out of mainland Europe begin to resume operations in the wake of the volcanic ash cloud that has wreaked havoc with much of the continent's air transport.
Reports claiming that the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland has been releasing lower volumes of ash into the atmosphere led to optimism earlier in the day at the UK importer that some flights to European destinations would be possible.
'We are gradually beginning to resume production and we are confident that we will be able to fly to some European destinations within the next 24 hours,' said group chairman Anthony Pile. 'Our suppliers and customers continue to be hugely supportive during this very difficult time and our 3,000 strong staff at each of our factories and all our farmers have been exceptionally calm, good humoured and understanding throughout this very trying period.
'We are all eager to get back to work and continue producing for our customers,' Mr Pile added.
While Heathrow airport remains closed in the UK, Dutch airline KLM has resumed the majority of its long-haul flights and over half of its European operations today.
Blue Skies revealed earlier this week that it had been forced to temporarily close its facilities inGhana, Egypt, South Africa and Brazil as a result of the volcanic ash cloud that had grounded flights across northern Europe.
Eyjafjallajökull began erupting with severity on 14 April, throwing volcanic ash several kilometres into the atmosphere – resultingin an ash cloud that has travelled southwards over Europe.
As a result of the potential damage that such a cloud can cause to aircraft, the use of airspace across a number of European nations has been either restricted or removed, withhundreds of flights cancelled.
