Indian carriers Air India and Akasa Air have canceled several flights following the eruption of Ethiopia’s long-dormant Hayli Gubbi volcano, which sent ash plumes high into the atmosphere, with the ash now drifting over portions of Indian airspace, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Air India has cancelled 13 flights since Monday after India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), issued an advisory instructing carriers to avoid routes affected by volcanic ash. The airline also began precautionary inspections of aircraft that had flown over potentially impacted regions.
Akasa Air also cancelled several flights, including services to Jeddah, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, as the ash plume spread across parts of the Middle East and South Asia.
An official told PTI that at least 7 international flights, including arrivals and departures, were cancelled and 12 international flights were delayed at the Delhi airport due to the impact of the volcanic ash plumes.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the ash cloud is now drifting eastward and is expected to exit Indian airspace by around 7:30 pm on Tuesday, moving toward China.
Forecast models indicated that the plume may influence skies over Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, with the potential to temporarily worsen pollution levels in these regions.
The disruption follows the eruption of the Hayli Gubbi shield volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region on Sunday. Dormant for over 10,000 years, the volcano produced a massive ash column rising roughly 14 km (45,000 ft) into the atmosphere. The plume subsequently travelled eastwards across the Red Sea, moving over Yemen, Oman, Pakistan and parts of India.
(With inputs from PTI)