Caracas – Four airlines on Sunday announced the suspension of flights between U.S., Caribbean and Venezuelan airports due to the huge ash cloud being emitted by a volcano on the island of Montserrat, Caracas media reported.
The Venezuelan Airlines Association, or ALAV, confirmed in a communique that volcanic activity in the region “has been affecting since Saturday the operations of some member airlines on their flights to and from Venezuela.”
Venezuela’s Santa Barbara Airlines, Aeropostal and Aserca, and U.S. American Airlines announced the suspension of flights, according to the private Globovision news station.
The Monserrat Volcano Observatory reported that the Soufriere Hills volcano on Saturday blasted out rocks and other materials that reached an altitude of 16 kilometers (10 miles) above the crater.
The eruption did not cause any material damage, however, and no injuries were reported because the public was warned and safety measures were taken, authorities said.
An eruption of the same volcano in 1997 buried the capital of Montserrat, killing about 20 people.
Aeropostal vice president Juan Carlos Blanco said that the volcanic ash clouds in the region had forced the firm to suspend its flights between Venezuela and the United States and the Caribbean, but he did not say how long the hiatus would last.
Santa Barbara Airlines said that its suspension of flights to the United States would last, “at least in principle, for the next 48 hours.”
American Airlines and Aserca have not said how long they will maintain their flight suspensions between the United States and the Caribbean, local television reported.
