Flight Canceled Russia Volcano: Ash Clouds From Russian Volcano Covers Alaska, Forcing Flight Cancellations

By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter | Mar 02, 2015 05:47 PM EST

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Flight Canceled Russia Volcano - A large volcano in Russia that erupted over the weekend forced the cancellation of flights in Alaska due to poor visibility after winds blew ash clouds into the state.

"We canceled two roundtrip flights between Anchorage and Bethel, and Anchorage and Nome after the advisory low visibility," said Halley Knigge, Alaska Airlines spokeswoman.

According to Jeff Freymuelle, a scientist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, ash from Shiveluch, which erupted on Friday, was carried by winds across the Bering Sea and into western Alaska.

The ash cloud is expected to dissipate in a shot while, encouraging news for travelers because no more flights would be canceled.

Reports indicate that this is not the first time in a long time that Shiveluch has erupted. The volcano, which erupts frequently, shot ash into the atmosphere around 30,000 feet.

Poor visibility caused flight cancellation in January and this time Alaskan Airlines authorities are monitoring the situation. They would only allow flights to resume when it is safe to do so.

Alaska Airlines is not sure if additional flights would be canceled, however they have announced that they are monitoring the situation.

Volcanoes are erupting on Russia's Kamachatka Peninsula: Shiveluch, Klyuchevskoy and Karymsky. It's not clear if the eruptions of these volcanoes will cause more gas clouds across Alaska.

"Shiveluch, one of the largest and most active volcanoes in the region, is notorious for it's violent eruptions. On Saturday, ash plume rose to 9 kilometer (5.6 miles) altitude. On Sunday, the volcano spewed ash 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) into the atmosphere," Sputnik News reports read.

Reports also indicate that ash clouds pose a threat to not just Alaska flights but also to flights within some Russian localities.

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