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Iceland has announced a state of emergency due to numerous earthquakes occurring in the southwestern region of Reykjanes over the last 48 hours.
Despite concerns about a potential volcanic eruption, flights from the United Kingdom to Keflavik International Airport, located 10 miles north of the volcano, are operating as scheduled.
The initial flight out of the 14 planned for Saturday departed from London’s Luton Airport at 6:32am without any issues. It arrived at Keflavik International Airport, approximately 10 miles north of the eruption location, at 9:33am.
The flight departing from Manchester airport at 7:40am successfully landed at Keflavik international airport at 10:30am.
On Saturday, there will be five additional flights arriving in Iceland. Departing from London Gatwick at 2:30pm and London Heathrow at 8:40pm, an easyJet flight will depart from the capital.
It is recommended for travelers to stay informed through local media for any updates.
The photographer’s name is Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson and his website is arcticimages.com.
Another easyJet flight is scheduled to depart from Manchester Airport at 4:10pm, while another easyJet aircraft will take off from Edinburgh at 5:15pm.
An Icelandair flight will depart from Glasgow at 12:45pm.
A representative from easyJet stated that their flight schedule is currently running as usual. However, they are closely monitoring the situation and will inform customers directly if there are any changes to their flights.
Thirteen of the remaining flights are operated by airlines such as British Airways, Icelandair, and Wizz Air, all of which are headed to Keflavik. Nine of these flights depart from London, three from Manchester, and one each from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
A second flight from London Gatwick airport to the northern Icelandic city of Akureyri, which is approximately 200 miles away from the recent seismic activity, landed at around 10am.
All flights in the UK are scheduled to proceed as planned.
The UK travel industry sees Foreign Office guidance as the determining factor for a destination’s safety.
If there was a warning against traveling to certain parts of Iceland, tourists who were already there would be relocated and no additional trips would be made to those regions.
The Foreign Office issued an updated travel advisory today, warning of a higher likelihood of a volcanic eruption.
The official advice reads: “Earthquakes and indications of volcanic activity have increased above normal levels on the Reykjanes peninsula, southwest of Reykjavik.“The Icelandic authorities continue to monitor the area closely, particularly the area northwest of Mt Thorbjörn near the Svartsengi power plant and the Blue Lagoon. On 10 November, a Civil Protection Alert was declared after an intense swarm of earthquakes.
Grindavík was cleared as a safety measure, with certain roads closed and visitors advised to avoid the vicinity.
“The operations at Keflavik International Airport are currently unaffected. Although there is no current volcanic activity, there is a growing possibility of an eruption. It is advised to stay updated through local media and adhere to the authorities’ recommendations regarding travel to the region.”
The recommendation does not discourage travel to Iceland, so airlines and holiday companies are still running normally. There is no automatic option to cancel.
The popular Blue Lagoon thermal spa will be closed until 7am on November 16th due to being affected by tremors from one of the earthquakes.
The Icelandic destination known as the Blue Lagoon
The town of Grindavík was evacuated and some roads have been closed and visitors are advised to stay away from the area.
Source: independent.co.uk
