Volcano update: CIPD forced to cancel London conference

The travel chaos caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland has hit the heart of the HR community, with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) forced to cancel the first day of its International Federation of Training and Development Organisations’ (IFTDO) conference.

The event was due to take place tomorrow (20 April) at London Olympia, but with a number of international delegates unable to travel, the CIPD has decided to cancel.

However, the CIPD HRD conference and exhibition on Wednesday and Thursday is unaffected and will go ahead as planned.

Nina Harman, head of conferences and exhibitions at the CIPD, said it was a “great shame” to cancel.

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“However, many of the international delegates registered to attend the first day of the conference are directly affected by the flight ban, and are unable to travel. So, with great regret, we’ve cancelled the first day of the IFTDO event. All delegates registered to attend are being contacted individually,” she said.

Global companies have also been affected by the disruption, with a number of executives at McDonald’s struggling to reach Orlando for the fast-food giant’s worldwide convention this week. The company has conducted a number of meetings that were due to take place at the event, over the web.