Grimsvötn Volcano, Iceland

The eruption at Grímsvötn volcano in Iceland has paused. The ash plume has decreased from 24 km high at the peak of the eruption, to 3-5 km yesterday, and last night only steam was being emitted from the crater. No lava or ash was visible in the crater. The glacier south of the crater is covered with black ash. The glacier north of the crater is white. Keflavík International Airport in Iceland was reopened at 8 am this morning. The ash cloud has reached UK and Europe where more than 500 flights were cancelled.

26-05-2011


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Eurocontrol: No major ash impact on air traffic
AP

     
In this image from television, people watch a plume rising from the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland Wednesday May 25 2011. image from television, people watch a plume rising from the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland Wednesday …

 
   Hundreds of flights hit as ash reaches Britain Play Video Airlines Video:Hundreds of flights hit as ash reaches Britain AFP
   

By SLOBODAN LEKIC, AP Aviation Writer – Thu May 26, 7:01 am ET

BRUSSELS – No significant disruptions of air traffic are expected in Europe in coming days as a result of volcanic activity, Eurocontrol said Thursday.

But the international airline pilots association warned its members to remain vigilant.

The European air traffic control agency said activity from Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano has declined sharply.

"As a result, there are no areas of high concentrations predicted or observed over Europe today," said Brian Flynn, head of network operations for the Brussels-based agency.

"There are no flight restrictions anywhere," he added.

Earlier in the week ash clouds forced airport closures and hundreds of flight cancellations in Britain, Germany and elsewhere in northwestern Europe.

Some ash was projected to still linger over small parts of northern Scandinavia and northern Russia early on Thursday before dispersing later in the day. Other clouds were drifting between Iceland and Greenland.

But Flynn said these would not disrupt air traffic.

"Any significant ash concentrations are far out over the sea, at very low altitudes and well away from the air routes or airports," he said. "The expectation for the next couple of days is that there will be no disturbances to air traffic whatsoever."

While experts say particles in the ash could stall jet engines and sandblast planes' windows, some airline executives have argued the flight bans were a massive overreaction by badly prepared safety regulators.

Last year, European aviation authorities reacted to the April 14 eruption at Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano by closing vast swaths of the continent's airspace between April 15-20. More than 100,000 flights were grounded, stranding an estimated 10 million travelers worldwide.

The International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations said that despite the all-clear it was still recommending to its members to "to err on the side of safety."

"IFALPA recommends that pilots plan (flights) to avoid areas of contamination at any level," a statement said.

Hrafn Gudmundsson, a meteorologist at the Icelandic met office, said: 'There are indications that it’s ceasing really. There’s no plume detected since 0300 GMT and the last plume was around 0210 and since then there seems to be mainly steam coming from the crater.

'It is not officially declared over. We have every indication that it's been ceasing,' he added, saying it was up to geophysists formally to declare it over.

Yesterday, the Met Office had predicted the ash could be at its worst over Britain on Friday. They also said it could disappear entirely from UK skies by Saturday, and clear further away on Sunday.

This morning it said the eruption had ceased but there was a small level of seismic activity inside the volcano which could lead to further eruptions.

BA boss Willie Walsh said the group's test flights over Scotland and the north of England showed no threat.

Forecasters were unclear whether the existing ash would cause problems on Friday - they said it would depend largely on the direction of the wind.

The eruption of Grimsvotn forced the cancellation of 500 European flights on Tuesday, with Scotland especially hard hit.


P.S.

Iceland volcano update: Holiday-makers spared as eruption eases, but ash could still cause disruption on Friday