As our dearest Eyjafjallajökull volcano continues to spew out ash into the atmosphere, the appropriate authorities have decided that there will be no internal flights from Reykjavík airport as the ash cloud is too dense to allow safe flying. As of Sunday evening, Keflavík International Airport remains open, and aeroplanes are flying into the airport from the USA and are expected to fly in from Europe on Monday morning.

Iceland relies heavily on its domestic flights, as there is no railway system in the country and it is the fastest way to travel between large population centres.

According to information from the Icelandic Met Office, it is uncertain whether flights from Keflavík International Airport will operate today, and they expect to be able to shed a little more light on the situation by midday. It is possible that the airports in Akureyri and Egilsstaðir will need to be closed this evening, although there is no confirmation of this as yet. The ash is mainly spreading to the north, one spur heading over Sprengisandur, whilst another is heading south and is just encroaching on the Faroe Islands.

The situation is highly dependent on wind direction, the ash will affect any airport if the wind blows it in that direction and in a high enough quantity. The decision was made today to close most UK airports, those in the north of the country being closed first. Limited services are flying in and out of Gatwick and Heathrow airports, and they expect to be able to resume full services later today.

As the situation remains highly changeable, we could see these airports reopen as others close as the wind direction changes and carries the ash away. Volcanic ash is as famously difficult to predict as the lottery numbers, so keep an eye on the situation if you’re expecting to fly soon!

Source: mbl.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull, Transport