Volcano eruption in Iceland could ground air travel

Aviation authorities in Iceland have raised alarm that a possible eruption of the country’s largest volcano Bardarbunga will likely cripple air travel in the region.

“There’s nothing we can do if we get another big eruption like that of Eyjafjoell except to interrupt air traffic in the dangerous areas,” Icelandic Civil Aviation Administration spokesman Fridthor Eydal said on Wednesday.

Tourists and hikers have been evacuated from the area around the volcano, which is more than 300 kilometers from the capital, Reykjavik. All roads leading to the mostly uninhabited region near Bardarbunga have also been blocked.

In April 2010, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted and shot a large plume of volcanic debris into the sky, producing an ash cloud that caused biggest airspace shut down since World War II. Over eight million travelers were stranded due to the incident.

Scientists say the volcanic explosion would be large enough to disrupt air traffic over northern Europe and the northern Atlantic. The volcanic ash and glacial flooding following the eruption could also inflict heavy damage on the island nation.

On Monday, Bardarbunga went into seismic activity with an earthquake of 4.5 on the Richter scale being recorded in the area. The Icelandic Meteorological Office said a day later it had detected over 3,000 minor earthquakes in the region since Saturday.

However, officials say the volcano’s activity has been largely stable for four days, while an imminent explosion was unlikely.

“There is no change in the seismic activity at the moment and no sign of an eruption,” said Iceland’s Civil Protection Authority (CPA) in a statement.

In 2011, the country’s most active Grimsvotn erupted and temporarily disrupted air travel in Northwestern Europe.