Edinburgh Airport: Loganair Edinburgh to Shetland flight makes U-turn after being refused permission to land

Edinburgh flight to Shetland forced to divert after snow causes Samburgh Airport to close

A flight from Edinburgh to Shetland was forced to divert back to the Scottish capital due to heavy snow.

Loganair flight LM353 from Edinburgh Airport to Sumburgh Airport was scheduled to land at 8.45am on Monday morning – but the pilot was forced to perform a U-turn after the weaather worsened and the airport was closed.

Speaking to the Evening News, a spokesperson for Loganair said: “Flight LM353 Edinburgh to Sumburgh was diverted back to Edinburgh this morning as Sumburgh Airport was closed due to snow. It is scheduled to reopen later this morning.”

A flight from Edinburgh to Shetland was forced to divert back to the Scottish capital due to heavy snow.

It comes as snow and ice is causing travel disruption for some parts of the UK, with the cold and wintry spell set to continue.

Temperatures, which are around 5C-6C lower than usual for this time of year, will plummet well below freezing overnight, the Met Office said.

The forecaster has issued yellow warnings for snow and ice covering much of the country.

The RAC said it expected Monday to be its busiest day of the winter so far for vehicle breakdowns.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said on Monday: “We’re seeing snow across northern parts today. It’s mostly showers at the moment rather than a band, so the levels are sporadic.

“The north of Scotland, including places like Aberdeenshire, will be most affected. Temperatures will drop below freezing overnight – as cold as minus 5C or more in some rural areas.

“Temperatures might not get above freezing during the daytime in northern locations like Newcastle. In areas further south, like Bristol and Plymouth, temperatures will reach about 4C or 5C but it will feel colder because of the wind chill.

“We’re expecting to see this pattern for the rest of the week. Snow is unpredictable, so it’s worth keeping an eye on forecasts.”

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Chris Bulmer said: “There are a couple of weather systems for Tuesday and Wednesday which we are keeping an eye on that bring the potential for disruptive snow for some regions.

“With cold air firmly in place, any weather systems that move across the country next week will bring mainly snowfall inland.

“Models are currently showing us a variety of options for both systems and we’ll be able to add more details in the coming days.”