The 26-year-old’s much anticipated re-match with Britain’s David Weir, whose three-year winning sequence he ended last year when he set a new course record, is now back on following the decision to re-open Europe’s airports following the closure because of the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano.

Fearnley had resigned himself to staying home in Carcoar, New South Wales earlier this week, believing that time had run out for him to prepare properly even if he had been able to get a direct flight to Britain.

But he emailed Virgin London Marathon organisers today to say he had taken up an offer from Qantas to be on a flight which leaves Sydney tomorrow night and is due in at London early on Friday morning.

"He had been gutted at having to miss the race, but he is now very excited and glad to be on his way," a marathon spokesperson said.

"He had originally said that if he couldn’t leave by Wednesday morning his time there would not be a sufficient margin for him to prepare properly, but he has decided to take up the Qantas offer."

But Fearnley’s compatriot Christie Dawes, fifth in last year’s race, will not be able to get to London in time.

Meanwhile the ten elite wheelchair racers who had been stuck on the other side of the Atlantic after racing in the Boston Marathon have laid plans to arrive in the capital - they will fly to Paris, getting in on Friday morning, and then flying on to London by Friday lunchtime.

The group includes South African Ernst Van Dyk, the fastest man in history, Josh George and Adam Bleakney of the United States, Masazumi Soejima and Kota Hokinoue of Japan, Rafael Botello Jiminez and Roger Verdaguer of Spain, and Krige Schabort of South Africa.

Also there are Wakako Tsuchida, the Japanese athlete who won the women’s race in Boston for the fourth consecutive year this week, and London’s reigning women’s champion Amanda McGrory who was third.

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April 2010: Air chaos prevents Australia’s Fearnley defending London wheelchair title