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

26.11.2024 - 02:01 / euronews.com / Rebecca Ann Hughes

A volcano in Iceland has erupted for the seventh time since December, spewing red lava through a 3-kilometre fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

The eruption started at 11:14pm on Wednesday with little warning. Lava from the Sundhnúkur fissure was moving at a speed of 100m per hour yesterday, moving further westwards than ever before according to the Icelandic Met Office.

Despite this, the volcanic activity is estimated to be considerably smaller than the last eruption, in August, the Met Office said.

“In the big picture, this is a bit smaller than the last eruption, and the eruption that occurred in May,” Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, a professor of geophysics who flew over the scene with the Civil Protection agency to monitor the event, told the national RUV broadcaster.

Visitors were 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 travelling to Iceland right mpw.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office have been updating the public on the Reykjanes volcano since the eruption.

They said this eruption does not appear to be as intense as recent activity.

In a statement yesterday, the day after the initial eruption, they said: "Eruptive activity between Stóra-Skógfell and Sýlingarfell appears to be similar to that observed earlier this morning. Seismic activity and deformation at the eruption site remain very low.

The lava flow that crossed Grindavíkurvegur and the hot water pipeline to the west has continued travelling westward. By midday, lava reached the parking lot at the Blue Lagoon and continues to advance."

Before this year's 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, the local town of Grindavík has been evacuated.

“Grindavík is not in danger as it looks and it is unlikely that this crack will get any longer, although nothing can be ruled out,” Magnús Tumi said.

The repeated volcanic eruptions close to Grindavík, which is about 50-kilometres southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, and has a population of 3,800 people, have damaged infrastructure and property and forced many residents to move away from the town to guarantee their safety.

The Grindavík community was previously evacuated in December following a series of earthquakes that opened large cracks in the earth between the town and