Iceland: Planes Grounded After Volcano Erupts.

 

Planes have been grounded on the North Atlantic island and a no fly zone of 120 miles (220km) in all directions around the summit is now in place. Experts initially said the latest rupture would not affect international flights. But Keflavik international airport has now been forced to close - and other smaller airports are set to follow suit - as winds send the ash cloud across the country.

The island's most active volcano, Grimsvotn, located at the heart of its biggest glacier Vatnajoekull, started to spew smoke and lava late on Saturday. Within several hours, the plume of smoke had rose to an altitude of at least 10.5 miles (17km) - almost double the height of the nearby Eyjafjoell eruption just over a year ago which peaked at around 5.6 miles (9km). The Eyjafjoell eruption briefly forced 600 people from their homes but shut down large swathes of European airspace for almost a month amid fears the volcanic ash floating across the skies would wreak havoc on aircraft engines.

Last year's eruption was the first volanco blast at the Eyjafjallajokull glacier since 1823, and Iceland's first since 2004. Europe's air traffic control organisation said it expected no impact on European or transatlantic flights for at least 24 hours following the latest blast.

 

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