The restriction on flights into and out of the UK is set to enter its sixth day tomorrow, although there is some hope that flights could resume, with EU transport ministers set to hold emergency talks this morning.

Ipex 2010 event director Trevor Crawford said: "Obviously we're monitoring the situation extremely closely and we will be putting a hotline in place in the next 24 hours to accurately communicate what the current situation is to our overseas visitors.

"We remain supremely confident, however, that the volcanic activity in Iceland will have no impact on the event and it is likely that flights will resume in the next few days."

Crawford added that pre-registration for next month's Ipex exhibition was 35% up on the previous show and that 46% of pre-registered visitors for the show were from outside the UK.

Meanwhile, social networking site Twitter has featured numerous reports of print industry employees trapped overseas as a result of the flight restrictions, which are understood to have affected some 6.8m passengers.

PrintLeedsSouth posted a message about its managing director's travel travails, which said: "MD stranded in France, but 'business as usual' at Print-Leeds!"

Francis Atterbury, partner at Hurtwood press, tweeted: "Scraped home from checking proofs to originals in Geneva on Thursday and not sure how to get there with new proofs this week."

A Preston-based printer with the username Artyzyph said: "I drove a 760 mile round trip to pick up my mum and dad from France, from chorley to Lille and back."

IIR's telephone hotline can be reached on 020 3377 3730.

Has Icelandic ash scuppered your travel plans? Let us know by commenting below.