Icelandic volcano puts airlines on alert

Icelandic volcano puts airlines on alert
By admin


Airlines are on high alert as one of Iceland’s biggest volcanoes threatens to erupt with ash clouds that could force flight cancellations across the North Atlantic.

Watching Bardarbunga volcano for potential hazards to interfere with commercial air routes in the event of an eruption are airlines such as Air France, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Delta Air Lines.

Iceland’s Civil Protection Agency began evacuating the area north of the volcano yesterday and the seismic activity has raised concern that airlines may face a repeat of the 2010 disruptions, when a cloud belched from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

The 2010 event forced carriers to erase more than 100,000 flights and caused about $1.7 billion in lost revenue.

The ash cloud causes a problem for jetliners because the glass-like particles can damage engines by melting and congealing.

While the Icelandic Met Office reports there is still no sign of this intrusion being on its way to the surface, they reiterate it is “impossible to say whether or not the volcano will erupt, due to the simple fact that we can’t predict what the developments in the next hours or days will be.”

On Monday Iceland's meteorological office raised Bardarbunga's risk level to orange — the second-highest rating on the five-level scale.

Bardarbunga is Iceland's fourth most-active volcano, having last erupted in 1794.

Latest News