THE HMS Queen Elizabeth is in the Firth of Clyde as of Monday morning, the second time it has been in the estuary since its launch in July 2014.
The 65,000 tonne carrier was last seen on the Clyde in March last year when the ship sailed to Loch Long to be loaded with ammunition ahead of its deployment with the Carrier Strike Group.
Construction of HMS Queen Elizabeth began in 2009 with six shipyards around the UK involved in building different sections of the ship which were then transported to Rosyth dockyard where they were assembled.
The ship is visiting Glen Mallan as part of a routine logistics visit, after returning to sea as the UK’s Very High Readiness Strike Carrier. The ship is using the transit from Portsmouth and follow-on programme to test newly refurbished equipment and to continue to train as a team.
READ MORE: Rosyth Shipyard will stay put in an independent Scotland, says Babcock official
As a result of the ship's visit, Scotland's airspace will be restricted from 5am on March 14 until 11.59pm on March 20.
The restriction applies across a large area of the Firth of Clyde as well as Loch Long, with no aircraft allowed below 6000 feet.
However, pre-scheduled flights as well as manned aircraft being used for emergency services, including Police Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Coastguard for search and rescue will not be prohibited.
The restriction is to ensure the safety of the crew on the vessel and is understood to be routine practice.
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