Whitney Houston among Stena Line's extra passengers this week

Stena Line has revealed that Whitney Houston was among thousands of passengers who travelled with the company this week after the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland forced the closure of airports in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The singer took a ferry to Stranraer from Belfast following three concerts in Dublin and was accommodated in the Voyager's Stena Plus lounge.

Houston was one of around 45,000 additional passengers who travelled with Stena Line this week following further flight cancellations.

Overall, the company has carried more than 89,000 customers on its five Irish Sea routes, including the Fleetwood to Larne and Holyhead to Dublin ferry services.

Nigel Tilson, Stena Line's communications manager, said: "We've certainly had a busy week and estimate that we have carried twice the amount of passengers that we would normally expect at this time of year.

"Whitney was the most famous but not the only celebrity to travel with us at this time, as we also carried rising golf star Rory McIlroy, the Ulster Rugby and Ospreys Rugby teams and millionaire businessman and racehorse owner JP McManus."

Irish Ferries also announced that it has experienced a substantial increase in demand this week as a result of the airport closures.

Posted by Mark Robinson

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