Volcanic Ash Cloud Could Reach Spain by Thursday
May 24th, 2011
The Icelandic authorities ordered the closure of Keflavik International Airport on Sunday, as a precautionary measure following the eruption of the Grímsvötn volcano, which also forced the closure of other airport facilities as the day progressed.
The massive glacier, located in southeast Iceland, is expelling columns of white smoke that now exceed 15 km in height. However, geologists consider the eruption, while big, is highly unlikely to have the impact of that recorded last year.
The meteorological authorities have reported that the ash cloud from the volcano, the most active in the country, could reach western France or northern Spain on Thursday or Friday if the intense eruption, triggered yesterday, continues.
British Airways is confident that the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano will not lead to serious disruption of air traffic. The British Met Office believes that the volcanic cloud heading for Scottish airspace, will continue on to other parts of the UK, France and Spain. However, air traffic controllers do not believe that passengers will face disruption like last year which caused millions in losses for airlines.
A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said that since last year much research has been carried out on the subject, and they are now much better prepared to detect and predict the movement of clouds of ash, as well as being much more confident in the resilience of the engines.
European aviation authorities are keeping a minute-by-minute watch on the developing situation in order to take any action necessary to avoid any impact on European air traffic.
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