Air India, Akasa cancel flights after Ethiopia volcano eruption sends ash over region
Indian carriers Air India and Akasa Air cancelled several flights on Tuesday after massive ash plumes from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano disrupted regional air operations.
Air India said it cancelled 11 flights on Monday and Tuesday to conduct precautionary inspections on aircraft that had flown over areas affected by the ash. The move follows a directive from India’s aviation regulator advising airlines to avoid contaminated airspace and perform safety checks, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Akasa Air also suspended flights scheduled over the two days to Middle Eastern destinations including Jeddah, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi, citing operational safety concerns.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the ash cloud is moving toward China and is expected to clear Indian airspace by 1400 GMT on Tuesday.
The Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia erupted on Sunday, sending ash plumes soaring up to 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) into the atmosphere — the first recorded eruption of the volcano, according to local media.
By Tuesday, ash had spread across parts of Pakistan and northern India after drifting over Yemen and Oman, data from flight-tracking service Flightradar24 showed.
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