A “massive” ash cloud that erupted from an Alaskan volcano disrupted flights operating on flight paths in the region on Monday, The Associated Press reports.
The ash cloud spewed from the Pavlof Volcano – one of the most-active in the state – that sits about 625 miles southwest of Anchorage.
"It's right in the wheelhouse of a lot of flights crisscrossing Alaska," said geologist Chris Waythomas, of the U.S. Geological Survey, part of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, along with the University of Alaska and the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.
Alaska Airlines announced on Monday that it had canceled more than 40 flights, affecting about 3,300 customers heading to Alaskan destinations like Fairbanks, Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, Barrow and Deadhorse. The carrier is waiving rebooking fees for customers traveling to or from those destinations on Monday and Tuesday.
Volcanic ash is angular and sharp and has been used as an industrial abrasive. The powdered rock can cause a jet engine to shut down. USGS geologists have compared it to flying into a sand blaster.
An eruption of Mount Redoubt in December 1989 sent out an ash cloud 150 miles that flamed out the jet engines of a KLM flight carrying 231 passengers to Anchorage. The jet dropped more than two miles before pilots were able to restart the engines and land safely.
"We just simply will not fly when ash is present," Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said.
Fortunately for fliers, the eruption appeared to be calming by late Monday, though Waythomas cautioned it was too early to say when the event would end.
"It can erupt for periods of hours to days or it can go on for much longer periods of time," Waythomas said. "It won't erupt continuously for many months or a year. It will be intermittent. But the eruption cycle could go on for a while, or it could abruptly shut off and be done tomorrow."
Material from The Associated Press was used in this post.
