Summer season taking off after £50k setback

The six-day shut down of Humberside Airport because of volcanic ash cost the airport £50,000, the Mail can reveal.

Tony Lavan, managing director of the Kirmington-based airport, said the figure is "a large sum for a small airport".

However, in today's Behind the Headlines in the Mail, Mr Lavan says that he backed the Civil Aviation Authority's decision to close British airspace for six days in April.

As previously reported, the eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull spewed dangerous amounts of volcanic ash into the skies, leading to the unprecedented decision.

Many airline bosses who lost millions of pounds criticised the CAA's decision to close airspace completely.

However, Mr Lavan said: "Closing the airspace was absolutely the right thing to do because you just can't take the risk.

"Safety is the priority, so you have to start with no aircraft flying and then investigate where you go from there."