Iceland Volcano Erupts: Travel Update

Following weeks of threatening earthquakes in the area of Iceland known as Fagradalsfjall, an eruption has occurred.

Lava waves up to 100 metres in height have been recorded bursting from a ridge in the Reykjanes peninsula as of Monday night and the activity is ongoing, taking place just kilometres away from the fishing town of Grindavik, which thankfully was evacuated last month.

Given the history of the area, the event could continue for weeks or months, and there is always the worry that there’ll be a repeat of the Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud in 2010, which affected almost 50% of all air space traffic and affected millions of passengers. However, it’s good news! The geological makeup of the eruption is different this time, which means that there’s little to no ash being produced from the fissure. The Keflavik international airport is still open and operating as normal, with only minor delays earlier in the week whilst the situation was assessed.

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) still hasn't advised against all, or all but essential, travel to any area of Iceland. They have updated the information on the Iceland travel advice page to make sure travellers are aware, and are suggesting that you keep up-to-date with alerts and advice from the following pages:

• Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO)
• Safe Travel Iceland
• The Icelandic Civil Defence (Almannavarnadeild) Facebook & Twitter (@almannavarnir)

20th December 2023