REYKJAVIK – Ash from a massive plume of smoke which followed an eruption of Iceland’s most active volcano could spread south to other parts of Europe this week, but experts hope the impact on air travel will be limited.
The eruption, which began yesterday at Grimsvotn, has so far hit only Iceland, which closed its international airspace.
Aer Lingus and Ryanair yesterday said the eruption had so far not affected flights, and no warnings had been issued in relation to airspace closures.
“There is no operational disruption at the moment, but it remains to be seen whether there will be any impact in the next couple of days,” a spokesman for Aer Lingus said. The airline would be in regular contact with air traffic control authorities, he said.
“We remain in contact with air traffic control here and in the UK and we haven’t been advised of any closures of airspace. It’s unclear whether this eruption will have any impact on aviation.”
A spokesman for Ryanair said it was also unaffected by the volcano. “There is no impact on the schedule – Ryanair continues to operate as normal.”
A thick cloud of ash blocked out daylight at towns and villages at the foot of the glacier where the volcano lies, and a coating of it lay on cars and buildings.
The eruption is much stronger than that at a volcano further south last year which closed European airspace for six days.
During a conference call with weather experts and officials responsible for European airspace yesterday, airlines were told to prepare for a possible further spread of ash later in the week.
“There is the potential for some ash to be effective in northern Scotland and the northern North Sea by midday on the 24th [tomorrow],” a British weather official told airlines. “After that, as long as the volcano continues to erupt at the same intensity, there are concerns that ash could become effective further into the UK and western France and northern Spain by the 26th or 27th ,” he added.
Others said the impact on air travel this time was set to be more limited as winds were more favourable, the content of the plume was heavier and less likely to spread and authorities had adopted a higher tolerance for ash levels, they said.
“It could lead to some disruption, but only for a very limited time and only over a very limited area,” said University of Iceland professor of geophysics Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson. “We see some signs that the power is declining a bit, but it is still quite powerful,” Mr Gudmundsson said, adding the eruption was the most violent at the volcano since 1873.
Iceland’s meteorological office said the plume had fallen to 10km-15km in height from a maximum of 25km.
Mr Gudmundsson said the wind direction was different this year, meaning the ash was falling mainly around Iceland. “But also, very importantly, the rules that apply today and the models are very different. The tolerance is much higher,” he said.
Grimsvotn, which last exploded in 2004, lies under the Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland, the largest glacier in Europe. Areas to the south of the glacier were covered in thick layers of ash and for several hours the sun was blocked out. – (Reuters)