Chile Volcano’s Ash Cloud Grounds More Flights

Ash clouds from Chile’s Puyehue volcano are continuing to wreak havoc on flights in the region, forcing cancelations of dozens of flights in Argentina and several other South American countries ten days after the eruption began.

Puyehue’s eruption sent an ash cloud spanning over 6,000 miles into the atmosphere, grounding flights as far away as Australia and New Zealand. The ash cloud is currently sitting at around 5 miles above ground, which is roughly the cruising altitude for passenger aircraft.

Australia’s airlines are currently struggling getting thousands of stranded passengers to and out of the country, with many flights being delayed or even canceled. According to Australia’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, the flight delays could continue for several more days.

”I think it’s fair to say there will be more disruption, so that’s the bit of bad news. The weather patterns are breaking the ash up, but as it breaks up it’s like chasing leaves around the yard,” Dr Andrew Tupper said. ”We don’t know exactly where it will go next.”

via IBT