Approximately 300 visitors are stuck in Bermuda while 500 residents have been impacted by the grounding of British Airways flights to and from the Island.

Flights ceased servicing the Island on Thursday and it is not yet known when they will resume — a result of plumes of ash from the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which has closed down airports across Europe.

While some UK airports were expected to open today, Bermuda’s service was cancelled and it is not known when the next flight will be.

Most of the people impacted are locals, either trying to go abroad or stuck in Europe wanting to come home.

British Airways spokeswoman Sallie Singleton said many of the people waiting to leave the Island were students heading back to school after Easter vacation.

She said: “There are between 300 and 400 visitors who are ‘stuck’ in Bermuda.

“They are not stranded, as the majority of them are visiting family and friends.

“Probably there are an additional 500 passengers who are local residents understanding this unprecedented situation and appreciative that British Airways is doing its best to assist them to rebook or receive a refund.”

Some residents impacted by the grounding of flights are members of Bermuda’s tourism delegation.

Premier Ewart Brown travelled through the UK with members of the Tourism Department, the Bermuda Hotel Association and various hoteliers drumming up press for the Island.

The 21-strong team is still in London today, four days after they were expected to return.

Grotto Bay general manager JP Martens said they hoped to return last Saturday. He said that flight was cancelled as was the flight they rebooked for yesterday. They have booked seats on Saturday’s flight, but hope to return sooner.

While grounded in London the team have taken in some sightseeing and enjoyed the unseasonable sunshine.

“The group is in great spirits but eager to get back to Bermuda,” he said.

The one downside has been accommodation: “We have been struggling to secure rooms and some hoteliers had to move to other hotels since rooms are in short supply throughout London. You see people walking around London with suitcases.”

Cambridge Beaches general manager Mike Winfield was also on the trip promoting Bermuda. Last night he said he found the situation “frustrating”.

“We have been constantly reviewing our options, looking for alternative ways out,” he said. “In the end, it always seemed more sensible to wait it out.

“Obviously we all have been very frustrated but have been keeping up with work by phone and e-mail. We have had a couple of long walks with ‘team Bermuda’.”

The Premier initially seemed not to mind being grounded, telling his Facebook friends on Friday: “Stuck in London because of the volcanic ash from Iceland. Maybe a day of relaxation and a good meal will be just what the doctor ordered.”

But as the days wore on and the Premier faced a fourth day in London he told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “Safety comes first. Of course we are all inconvenienced but so are hundreds of thousands of passengers throughout the world.

“We’ll fly when the authorities give the green light. Until then, we keep working without regard to geography.”

One professional not minding the current predicament is Department of Communications officer Malika Musson. After a nine-day Mediterranean cruise with some friends she is now waiting out the closed airspace in a Barcelona apartment.

“It’s been an adventure,” she said. “The cruise line helped us to find accommodation last night and a good friend in Bermuda assisted with us renting a two-bedroom apartment for the rest of the time. None of us speak Spanish fluently so there is a language barrier trying to understand the CNN updates as they are in Spanish. We have computer and Internet access so we are able to check online. We will be doing some additional sightseeing tomorrow to pass the time.”

She hopes to fly back, through New Jersey, on April 25.

And on the flip side of the coin university student Cooper Stevenson is stuck in Bermuda unable to get to London.

The Bournemouth University student was supposed to spend this week shadowing the editor of The Times in advance of a summer internship at the national paper.

“I was supposed to leave last Friday, but I couldn’t get on a plane until Tuesday,” the 22-year-old said. “This meant I had to push everything a week back, causing me to miss an entire week of classes and cancel a trip I had planned to NYC at the end of the month.”

Meanwhile 16-year-old Bertie Horsefield has missed deadlines for GCSE coursework at Wycliffe Senior School in Gloucestershire.

“I don’t think anyone is missing [GCSE] exams,” he said yesterday. “I am missing coursework deadlines. I don’t mind, it gives me more time.”

Mrs. Singleton said yesterday: “We are working on detailed plans to help as many passengers as possible and will aim to give customers as much notice as possible of the flight programme.

“At the present time British Airways has more than 80 aircraft and almost 3,000 cabin crew out of position overseas across the global network.

“All these aircraft will require detailed checks before they are cleared to enter service again.

“Inevitably this will mean delays and we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding in these very difficult circumstances.”

The ticket office at L.F. Wade International Airport will be open this afternoon from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. to assist passengers.

Government’s London Office has not received calls for assistance from Bermudians stuck in Europe, according to a Government spokesman. One English person stuck in Bermuda has contacted the office for help getting off the Island.

This is the first time that UK airspace has been closed, according to the Met Office.