Latest News
Icelandic volcano disrupts disrupts flights
- Nearly 500 flights have been cancelled in Europe due to the ash cloud caused by the eruptions at the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland on May 21. This is the largest eruption by the volcano in 100 years. The ash clour has reached mainland Europe resulting in partial airspace closure in Norway and Denmark. German Air Traffic Services has also issued a restriction on flights for the airspace over northern Germany.
Grimsvotn volcano is located under Vatnajokull ice cap in central Iceland, with two major volcanic centers lying beneath the ice. A subglacial eruption began at the volcano on May 21, which sent a plume approximately 50,000 ft high. A no-fly zone has been designated for 120 nautical miles (220 kilometers) in all directions from the eruption. The volcano also erupted in 2004, 1998, 1996 and 1993, and eruptions lasted between a day and several weeks.
Last year, a volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland erupted twice in April, melting ice and shooting smoke into the air and forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes. After the eruptions, the resulting ash plume shut down European airspace for days and affected global air traffic severely, leaving nearly 10 million passengers stranded and resulting in an almost 2 billion USD loss for the aviation sector worldwide.
