Fears Of Atlantic Air-Travel Chaos As Iceland Issues Red Alert Over Restless Volcano

Sky high: The UK is monitoring fall out from a volcanic eruption in Iceland after vulcanologists issued a red alert

Airlines are on high alert after Iceland raised its aviation alert for the restless Bardarbunga volcano to red, according to PA, AP and Daily Mail.

Seismologists say magma is moving under the Vatnajokull glacier but so far has travelled horizontally at a depth of 3 to 6 miles. The volcano will erupt if the magma melts the ice above.

Thousands of small earthquakes have rattled the volcano deep in the past week, with activity picking up today after a lull. 

The red alert is the highest warning on the country's five-point scale.

A 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano produced an ash cloud that caused a week of international aviation chaos, with more than 100,000 flights cancelled. 

Aviation regulators since have reformed policies about flying through ash, so a new eruption would be unlikely to cause as much disruption.

Thick smoke: A 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano produced an ash cloud that caused a week of international aviation chaos, with more than 100,000 flights cancelled

Scientists had planned to fly over Vatnajokull later today to look for changes on the surface but it was not clear if that would still take place.

Earlier this week authorities had evacuated several hundred people from highlands north of the glacier as a precaution. The area is uninhabited but popular with hikers. 

A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said that air travel would not be affected until an eruption actually breaks the ice.

'The (UK) Met Office will be monitoring what's occurring. They will be sending out forecasts about the atmosphere and any ash in the air,' he said. 

'If the eruption does occur we will issue what's called a notice to airmen informing them of the conditions. It's then up to the airlines with their safety teams and experts whether to fly.'  

Melissa Pfeffer, a vulcanologist with the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said the amount of ash produced would depend on the thickness of the ice.

'The thicker the ice, the more water there is, the more explosive it will be and the more ash-rich the eruption will be,' she said. 

A spokesman for NATS, the UK's air traffic control organisation, said: 'NATS is monitoring the situation and working in close collaboration with the Met Office, Department for Transport and our safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, as this dynamic situation develops further.'

She added that NATS will help determine what impact the eruption will have for operations in UK airspace and advise airline customers accordingly.

A spokesman for budget airline easyJet said it is putting its contingency plans into action following the red alert, using specialist technology to ensure any ash created by the eruption is detected and chartered.

Iceland Civil Protection Agent very wary of active glacier area

'EasyJet will use this and other data provided by the authorities to determine what, if any, changes it should make to its flying programme,' he said.

'As things stand there are no changes to easyJet's flying programme, including flights to and from Iceland.'

He added: 'The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is easyJet's highest priority.'

Iceland sits on a volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge. Eruptions are frequently triggered there when the Earth's plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface.