MEXICO: Volcanic ash over Iceland strands travelers on the other side of the world

Record ID: 303481

  • Title: MEXICO: Volcanic ash over Iceland strands travelers on the other side of the world
  • Date: 17th April 2010
  • Summary: CROWDS DEPARTURE BOARD WITH CANCELED FLIGHTS
  • Embargoed: 2nd May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Travel / Tourism
  • Reuters ID: LVAENOPCTO35PPSHY23WXBDXIRS8
  • Story Text: Passengers on holiday in sunny Mexico were stranded on Thursday (April 15) after a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano turned northern Europe into a no-fly zone.
    The European air safety organization said the disruption, the biggest seen in the region, could last another two days and a leading volcano expert said the ash could present intermittent problems to air traffic for 6 months if the eruption continued.
    Rances Lunas was vacationing in Cancun with his wife and two children. He said they didn't hear of the problem until they arrived at the airport.
    "Well, the flight's canceled because of the volcano eruption in Iceland. That's what they told us. We didn't read the newspaper so we couldn't see it because we're on holiday so we're disconnected. We were laying down on a beach and now this happens so two days probably without flights more. So hopefully we can leave on Saturday," he said.
    The volcano began erupting on Wednesday for the second time in a month from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier. It hurled a plume of ash six to 11 kilometers (3.8 to 7 miles) into the atmosphere, and this spread southeast overnight.
    Volcanic ash contains tiny particles of glass and pulverized rock that can damage engines and airframes and an Icelandic volcanologist said on Thursday the eruption was intensifying.
    Italian Guillermo Polimeno Franco said his vacation was just involuntarily extended.
    "So what they told us in Air France is that they would pay two days at the hotel for us and maybe on Saturday we need to come back here to see how things with this volcano are going, to see if we can leave," he said.
    At least 300,000 passengers were affected in Great Britain alone.
    Scientists said the ash did not pose any health threat because it is at such a high altitude.
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