Ash cloud clears, Australia flights resume

A Virgin plane takes off at Sydney’s domestic airport June 22, 2011. Tens of thousands of air passengers faced more flight chaos in Australia on Wednesday caused by an ash cloud from a Chilean volcano, although grounded flights were starting to resume from some cities as the ash moved offshore


Australian airlines struggled to move a backlog of tens of thousands of passengers today after an ash cloud from a Chilean volcano, which had grounded flights across the country’s eastern and southern states, cleared .

The ash cloud has circled the earth twice to disrupt Australian airlines for a second time, costing Qantas an estimated A$20 million (RM64.20 million) before the latest disruptions and the tourism industry more than A$15 million in two weeks.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said long-term modelling suggested the ash cloud would not pass over Australia for a third time and disrupt airlines.

Volcanic ash can be extremely dangerous to aircraft and cause engine failure or engine damage.

Chilean ash cloud problems continue - Ash from Chilean volcano continues to disrupt flights

Peru's president-elect, Ollanta Humala, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are among those forced to take other modes of transport to reach Argentina. The ash cloud has also led Argentina to declare a state of emergency for farmers. ...

Chile volcano erupts, spits towering ash column

Residents walk on streets covered with ash from Chile’s Puyehue volcano 160km to the west, in the Argentine resort city of Bariloche on June 4, 2011. The volcano dormant for decades erupted in south-central Chile yesterday, belching ash over 10km into the sky,

A volcano dormant for decades erupted in south-central Chile yesterday, belching ash over 10km into the sky and prompting the government to evacuate several thousand residents, authorities said.

Winds fanned the ash toward neighboring Argentina, darkening the sky in the ski resort city of San Carlos de Bariloche, a government official there said, adding the city’s airport had been closed.

The eruption in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain, about 920km south of the capital, Santiago, also prompted Chilean authorities to shut a heavily traveled border crossing into Argentina.

Europe on alert for Icelandic volcano ash cloud

Smoke rise from the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland May 21, 2011.

An eruption by Iceland’s most active volcano was set to keep the island’s main airport shut today, while other European nations watched for any impact on their air routes from a towering plume of smoke and ash.

Experts said they saw little chance of a repeat of last year’s six-day closure of airspace, which also hit transatlantic flights, when another Icelandic volcano erupted, although airlines have been warned the new ash cloud will drift.

So far Iceland, particularly the towns and villages to the south and east of the Grimsvotn volcano, have suffered most. Day turned into night when a thick cloud of ash descended on the area, smothering cars and buildings.

Iceland volcanic ash threatens half-term getaway dozens of europe flights cancelled.

* BA, Easyjet, Loganair, KLM and Eastern Airways all cancel flights after Civil Aviation Authority warning
* President Obama cuts short his stay in Ireland to avoid effects of ash cloud
* Aviation sector says it is better prepared than last year
* Transport Secretary warns of further disruption in the week ahead
* Click here to see live video of volcano eruption viewed from space

Tens of thousands of families are facing air travel chaos from today – and into the half-term holidays – as a thick cloud of volcanic ash descends over the UK.

The towering plume of Icelandic ash, smoke and steam hit Scotland and Ireland last night, bringing disruption to airlines.

British Airways last night cancelled all flights between London and Scotland until 2pm today.

Between 30 and 40 BA flights will be affected from airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and London City to and from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The airline runs 80 flights a day between these airports.

This latest shot shows the ash cloud (the reddish colour) swirling into the atmosphere after spewing from the Grimsvotn volcano

Covered from head to toe with ski goggles and face mask this farmer's son - preparing to herd his sheep to shelter - looks like he is on the set of a science fiction film set

Looking up to the darkened sky because of the ash cloud, Sunna Agustdottir, seven, carries a new-born lamb to shelter at the family farm in Longumyri, Iceland

The ash billows into the sky from the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in south east Iceland

The huge puffs of ash from the active volcano could ruin many people's plans to jet off as it starts to drift into Europe

Sample: Ash is collected awaiting examination at the command centre in Kirkjubaejarklaustur as authorities prepare to deal with the effects of the eruption

Huge eruption: Smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano create a stunning scene about 120 miles east of Rejkjavik

Chaos in the sky: Aerial view of the eruption of the volcano Grimsvotn in the south-east of Iceland which has forced shut its main international airport

Wearing a face mask, Anna Hardadottir, a farmer of Horgsland, leads a horse through the ash pouring out of the erupting volcano. It has spewed an ash cloud about 15 miles into the sky

An infra-red image showing the plume of smoke spreading out from south-east Iceland. The pinkish-red part shows the fallout from the eruption, the brown is normal cloud cover. Britain is braced in case it begins to drift east.

Stunning: As the volcano erupts, huge dark ash and storm clouds gather across the Icelandic skyline

Ash from the Grimsvotn volcano hanging in the sky over Iceland. The cloud has spewed 12 miles into the atmosphere

How are we going to get home? Tourists leave the Islandia Hotel yesterday in Nupur as ash continue to pour out of the erupting volcano

Electrical storm: Ash is hurled miles into the air by the eruption, creating thunderstorms around the volcano

Awesome power: Keflavik airport has been closed to air passengers as of 8.30am this morning following the eruption

Iceland Volcano May Disrupt European Air Traffic as Ash Cloud Reaches UK

An Icelandic volcanic eruption pushed an ash cloud toward the UK, curtailing US President Barack Obama's visit to Ireland and threatening to snarl air traffic across Europe.

Lava thrown 65ft into the air as new vent opens in Hawaiian volcano

A new vent has opened on one of the world's most active volcanos, sending lava shooting 65ft into the air.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the fissure eruption on Kilauea was spotted after the floor of the Pu'u O'o crater collapsed.

It occurred along the middle of Kilauea's east rift zone, around two miles west of Pu'u O'o.

Volcanologist Janet Babb said: 'This is what we do. These are the moments we wait for.

'It is exciting to see an eruption begin particularly if you can see it from the very start.'

Kilauea has been in constant eruption since January 3, 1983.

 Interest: Kilauea Volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983

Charred: The molten rock can be seen pouring into a fissure after the 1,605ft vent opened up

Study: Scientists fly in a helicopter above the new vent on Hawaii's Big Island

Activity: Lava flows can be seen on Kilauea Volcano. The eruption threw the red hot molten rock 65ft into the air

Lava: The floor of the Pu'u O'o crater, pictured, collapsed on Saturday triggering new eruptions along the east rift zone

Icelandic volcano set to erupt dwarfing last year's devastation, warn scientists

Scientists in Iceland are warning that another volcano on the island looks set to erupt, threatening to spew-out a blanket of dust that would dwarf last year's eruption.

Geologists detected the high risk of a new eruption after noticing an increased swarm of earthquakes around the island's second largest volcano Bárdarbunga.

Pall Einarsson, a professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland, says the area around Bárdarbunga is showing signs of increased activity, which provides 'good reason to worry'.

Last year's eruption of volcanos near Eyjafjallajokull, located in the south of the island, caused chaos around the world as hundreds of planes were grounding due to dust and ash filling the sky.

 Cloud: Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano spews ash and ice into the air causing travel chaos  in May last year with hundreds of planes grounded

 Eruption: Lava flows from Eyjafjallajokul sending plumes of thick black smoke high into the air in Iceland

Indonesian volcano erupts scattering ash 15 miles - 30,000 people forced to evacuate danger zone

An Indonesian volcano, Mount Sinabung, shot a towering cloud of black ash high in to the air this morning, dusting villages 15 miles away in its most powerful eruption since awakening last week from four centuries of dormancy.

The eruption occurred just after midnight in the early hours of this morning during a torrential downpour.

Witnesses said volcanic ash and mud oozed down the mountain's slopes, flooding into abandoned homes. Others said saw bursts of fire and hot ash, and the force of the explosion could be felt five miles away.

'Ring of fire': The eruption at Mount Sinabung caught many scientists off guard - local vulcanologists have to monitor more than 129 active volcanoes

Indonesian volcano erupts again

An Indonesian volcano, inactive for four centuries, erupted again today, pitching ash two km into the air and sending nearby residents scurrying from their homes.

Villages were emptying fast near Mount Sinabung on the north of Sumatra island, leaving behind only officials from the bureau of meteorology and the police. Short-haul flights skirting the volcano were delayed.

Surono, head of Indonesia’s vulcanology centre, told Reuters today’s eruption was more powerful than the first a day earlier.

“Earlier today was another eruption at 6.30am, sending out smoke as high as two km, more or less,” he told Reuters.

Mount Sinabung spews smoke in Indonesia's North Sumatra province August 30, 2010.

Thousands flee as long-sleepy Sumatra volcano erupts

Thousands of Indonesians were evacuated from the slopes of a volcano today after it erupted for the first time in more than 400 years, spewing out lava and sending smoke and dust 1,500m into the air.



Mount Sinabung, in the north of the island of Sumatra, began erupting around midnight after rumbling for several days, prompting some villagers to panic before the mass evacuation got under way.

Indonesia is on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and geological fault lines triggering frequent earthquakes around the Pacific Basin. The eruption triggered the highest red volcano alert.

Mount Sinabung volcano spews smoke in the district of Tanah Karo outside the city of Medan, North Sumatra August 28, 2010.

Storm blows a 200ft hole in Guatemala City, swallowing a building

Sink hole: This incredible picture shows a 200ft-deep hole in an intersection in downtown Guatemala City. In the top left of the intersection stood a three-storey building



Lucky escape: Neighbouring buildings are left untouched after torrential rain led to this huge crater forming in the capital. The area has been closed off and evacuated

Ash threat: Officials blame mudslides and sink holes in the capital on poor drainage, due to ash from the Pacaya volcano blocking drains. The volcano erupted last week, laying a blanket of ash on everything - including the runway at Guatemala City's international airport



At least one man was killed and others are missing after a three-storey building fell into a 200ft-deep sink hole in Guatemala City.

Tropical storm Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific season, slammed into Guatemala and neighbouring El Salvador at the weekend, dumping more than three feet of rain in the region.

Volcanic ash forces Heathrow, Gatwick to close Monday

Ash-hit Europe on track to normal, sporadic disruptions to air travel likely to occur

An airplane of British Airways is about to land at the Heathrow Airport in London, capital of Britain, April 21, 2010.


Flights and life are returning to normal in Europe as Iceland's Eyjafjjoell volcano has reined in her temper, though sporadic disruptions to air travel are expected to occur due to the drifting volcanic ash.

Flights in Europe have returned to normal, one week after the volcanic eruption caused the continent to almost completely shut down its airspace, the European air safety coordination body Eurocontrol said on Friday.

"At the current time, almost all European airspace is available, with the exception of part of northern Scotland," Eurocontrol said in a statement. It expected 29,000 flights to take place on Friday, the normal number.

On the same day, Finnish Civil Aviation Administration said in a statement that all airspace restrictions had been removed in Finland and all airports across the country had been opened for air traffic and were operating normally.

The statement also noted that no new flight restrictions were to be expected, based on the latest forecast on volcanic ash cloud movements on Friday morning.

However, the situation remains unstable. The airspace in southern Finland, southern Norway, northern Scotland and western Sweden had to be closed again Thursday, as a change in the wind direction brought volcanic ash from Iceland back into Scandinavian skies.

European airspace reopens, no further major disruptions foreseen

An airplane of British Airways is about to land at the Heathrow Airport in London, capital of Britain, April 21, 2010. The British authority reopened its airspace from 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, which had been shut down since April 15 owing to the influence of volcanic ash from Iceland.

Europe's airspace is now quickly returning to normal business as about 80 percent of scheduled flights took off Wednesday and 100 percent expected for Thursday.

With the Icelandic volcano at the source of this historic travel disruptions losing its fury, scientists now foresee no major chaos like this current one in the near future, although long, small disruptions are still very likely to occur.