Instrument flights at or below 30,000 feet have been banned in the area north and east of the eruption area. Because of this, all domestic flights to Egilsstadir and Hornafjördur have been cancelled.
An airplane from the domestic airline Air Iceland. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.
According to Hjördís Gudmundsdóttir, information officer for the Civil Aviation Administration, it is probable that the banned area will soon expand to the northeast and extend all the way to Norway and possibly Russia. This has not happened yet, though, ruv.is reports.
Even if this does happen, it will still be possible to fly to the country as Keflavík International Airport is outside the area. Plane traffic will, however, be diverted from the banned area and so planes that usually go over the area will have to take a loop on their way.
Gudmundsdóttir says there is much more ash fall in this eruption than in the Fimmvörduháls eruption, and the ban is because of this.
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