Iceland volcano 2024: Is it safe to travel and is the eruption affecting flights?

28.08.2024 - 23:32 / euronews.com / Rebecca Ann Hughes

A volcano in Iceland has erupted for the sixth time in three months, spewing red lava through a 4 kilometre fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

The eruption began shortly after 9 pm local time (11 pm CEST) last night (22 August) following a series of strong earthquakes and within the hour, a 4-kilometre fissure cut through the Sundhnúkur crater.

Halldór Björnsson, head of weather and climate at the Norwegian Meteorological Agency, told the Icelandic news portal Vísir that unlike previous eruptions, the lava flow is not heading for the town of Grindavik that was largely evacuated in December when the volcano came to life after being dormant for 800 years.

Roads around the volcano have been closed to protect people from toxic gas fumes.

Visitors have been evacuated from the Blue Lagoon thermal spa, one of Iceland’s top tourist attractions, and it remains closed.

Despite lying just 20 km north of the eruption site, Keflavik International Airport - Iceland's main international airport - remains open and flights are still arriving and departing.

If you are planning on travelling to or from the affected area, here are the full details on advice from European governments and airlines.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office updated the public on the Reykjanes volcano in the early hours of this morning.

This eruption does not appear to be as intense as recent activity.

In a statement they said, "The seismicity is fairly stable, and the main activity is at the northern end of the eruptive fissure. It is therefore unlikely that the fissure will extend to the south. It cannot be ruled out that the eruptive fissure could extend to the north."

Magnús Tuma Guðmundsson, a geophysicist who flew over the eruption told the website that “if this continues like this, Grindavík is not in danger. Of course, we don’t know what will happen in the near future, but it is likely that this has reached its peak and then it will start to subside like the other eruptions.”

Before the recent eruptions, the Svartsengi volcanic system north of Grindavik had been dormant for around 780 years. The volcano is just a few kilometres west of Fagradalsfjall, which was dormant for 6,000 years before flaring to life in March 2021.

Yes, Grindavik has, once again, been evacuated.

The Grindavik community was previously evacuated in December following a series of earthquakes that opened large cracks in the earth between the town and Sýlingarfell, a small mountain to the north.

Since then, Grindavik has been largely deserted of residents.

The repeated volcanic eruptions close to Grindavík, a town of 3,800 people about 50 kilometres southwest of the capital Reykjavik, have damaged infrastructure and property and forced many residents to relocate to guarantee their