A new volcanic eruption in Iceland so far poses no threat to aviation services, either in the country or further afield, according to the country’s government.
The eruption, in the southwest part of the North Atlantic island nation, began around 10 p.m. local time Dec. 18 on the Reykjanes peninsula, southwest of the capital Reykjavik.
It followed several weeks of increasing seismic activity in the area, which led in early November to the evacuation of the 4,000-strong population of Grindavik, a fishing town about 2.5 mi. (4 km) from the site of the Dec. 18 eruption.
Lava flowed from a 4 km fissure into Dec. 19 but has slowed since its original eruption. The area of the fissure is about 24 km from the country’s main airport at Keflavik.
According to an Icelandic government statement issued Dec. 19, “There are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open. This eruption follows intense seismic activity over the past few weeks and is classified as a fissure eruption. Fissure eruptions do not usually result in large explosions or significant production of ash dispersed into the stratosphere.”
This contrasts with the major eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokul volcano in 2010, which blasted vast quantities of ash into the upper atmosphere that then formed a plume over much of Europe for several days, severely disrupting airline activity.
Volcanologist Evgenia Ilyinskaya from the UK’s Leeds University, who is in Iceland, was cited by the BBC as saying that there would not be the same level of disruption as 2010, as the volcanoes in southwest Iceland were “physically not able to generate the same ash clouds.”
Despite this, EASA issued a Safety Information Bulletin Dec. 19, entitled Flight in Airspace with Contamination of Volcanic Ash, which is based on the progress that has been made in procedures following previous events involving the impact of volcanic ash activity on aviation and subsequent discussions with aviation stakeholders.
It notes that close cooperation between aviation authorities, European Union member states, and the airline industry is crucial when monitoring the situation and that “there is a need to avoid unnecessary airspace closures and recognize operators’ decisions based on their Volcanic Ash Safety Risk Assessment (VA SRA).
Airspace closure should be an action of last resort contemplated only in situations in which the VA SRA approach can no longer be relied upon to secure safe operations.”
Recommendations include airlines not operating in areas of visible volcanic ash, or in conditions—such as darkness—when ash cannot be easily discerned.
EASA also recommends the immediate reporting of any areas of ash by flightdeck crews both to air traffic control and to all relevant authorities, including their aircraft’s engine manufacturers and state of registry.
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