Icelandic authorities have put a localised airspace restriction in place after a volcanic eruption began near Grindavik, around 17km southeast of Reykjavik’s Keflavik airport.
There is no immediate indication of any air traffic disruption at Keflavik. Seismic activity has been recorded in the Grindavik area for several weeks.
NOTAMs for the Reykjavik flight information region state that a restricted area, named ‘BIR4’, has been established with a 2nm radius around the eruption, and an upper limit of 2,500ft.
The Icelandic meteorological office says the eruption began late on 18 December – the eruptive fissure is about 4km in length – but the intensity has since decreased.
It says, however, that declining activity shows the eruption is reaching equilibrium and is not an indication of its likely duration.
“There are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open,” says the Icelandic foreign affairs ministry.
It says fissure-type eruptions do not typically result in large ejection of ash into the atmosphere. The government adds that there have been four eruptions in the area since 2021, although this is the largest.
Keflavik airport’s operator indicates that flights conducted by various carriers, including Icelandair and budget carrier Play, are not experiencing any delay.
