BUENOS AIRES: Two airports here suspended all or part of their flights on Sunday due to the volcanic ash cloud generated by Chile’s Puyehue volcano, Xinhua News said.
Argentine Transportation Minister Juan Pablo Schiavi confirmed that all flights had been canceled at the Jorge Newbery Airport, which provides domestic and regional services.
“All the companies which operate in the airport have canceled their operations. We hope that the ash cloud would disappear from the sky,” Schiavi told local television.
As to the city’s other airport, Ezeiza International Airport, Schiavi said that although it remains open, most airlines have decided to cancel or delay their flights until the ash cloud disappears.
The Ezeiza airport said that the air companies that have suspended their departures include American Airlines, Air France, British Airways, Air Canada, while Lufthansa, Aeromexico and South African Airways have announced delays.
In neighboring Uruguay, more than a dozen international flights were also canceled at the Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo, most of which were flights to Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
Air traffic was also affected in Brazil, where airways Gol and Tam announced that their flights on Sunday to Buenos Aires and Montevideo were also canceled.
Since the Chilean volcano erupted in June and began spewing ash from time to time, flights over South America have been subject to frequent disturbances.
Volcanic ash is a serious hazard to aircraft, because it could cause engine failures should it be sucked into the engines.
Last year, the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjoll volcano led to the greatest shutdown of air space in Europe since World War II, which affected some 8 million passengers.