Flights of several airlines, including Air India, were cancelled on Wednesday after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in Indonesia erupted, sending an ash column of as high as 10 km, according to local reports.
The volcanic eruption forced Air India to divert mid-way the Delhi-Bali flight back to Delhi.
“Due to volcano activity of Lewatobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara, several flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport are cancelled,” airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia was quoted as saying.
The eruption occurred on Tuesday on the eastern island of Flores, where the 1,584-metre (5,197-foot) volcano erupted, sending a towering column of ash into the sky, resulting in the authorities raising the alert to the highest level and expanding the exclusion zone.
The ongoing eruption in the volcano since December 23, 2023, has displaced thousands of people so far, as per local reports
Lewotobi is a twin volcano located in the southeastern part of the island of Flores, Indonesia. It has two peaks—Lewotobi Laki-laki (Male Lewotobi) and Lewotobi Perempuan (Female Lewotobi) stratovolcanoes. The more active Lewotobi Laki-laki is about 2.1 km (1.3 mi) northwest of the taller Lewotobi Perempuan.
This is not the first time a volcano eruption sent airlines into a tizzy
The 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland caused widespread disruption to air travel, with over 100,000 flights cancelled across Europe due to concerns about volcanic ash affecting aircraft engines. The eight-day airspace closures/restrictions, left millions of passengers stranded, incurring loss worth around $1.7 billion to the airline industry.
According to USGS, there are about 1,350 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, apart from the continuous belts of volcanoes on the ocean floor at spreading centers like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. About 500 of those 1,350 volcanoes have erupted in historical time. Many of those are located along the Pacific Rim in what is known as the “Ring of Fire”.
