Iceland keeps airspace open despite volcano eruption

MADRID, 19 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Iceland maintains open airspace, with no interruptions to flights to or from the country after the eruption of a volcano near the city of Grindavik (Reykjanes Peninsula), on the southwest coast of the island.

This was confirmed by the Icelandic Foreign Minister, Bjarni Benediktsson, this Tuesday, after the eruption began at 10:17 p.m. (local time on Monday).

In April 2010, the eruption of the volcano beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier caused a dense cloud of ash that disrupted air traffic, causing aerial chaos on a scale not seen since the 9/11 attacks. S.

The event reached such a magnitude that tens of thousands of flights in Europe were canceled every day, affecting the airports of Ireland, the United Kingdom (except Scotland), Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the highest proportion. Estonia.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), with this event European airlines stopped earning 150 million euros every day.

The eruption has been preceded by a series of earthquakes in the Sundhnjúka crater, so the entire area has been evacuated, according to the Icelandic newspaper 'Fréttabladid'.

The estimated length of the fissure is about 3.5 kilometers, considerably greater than that of previous eruptions, and the speed of the lava flow is between 100 and 200 cubic meters per second, which is also a notable increase compared to other eruptions that have occurred on the peninsula in recent years.

According to data from the Icelandic Meteorological Office, seismic activity is moving south, so the eruption could extend in the direction of Grindavik.