Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Ethiopian Airlines has temporarily suspended flights to some cities in northern Ethiopia, Khartoum, and Djibouti because of a volcanic eruption at Dubbi, 350 km north of Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, which brought about ash cloud on the southern border of Eritrea.

Local destinations that were suspended because of the ash cloud include Mekele, Gonder, Axum and Bahir Dar. Other airlines like Lufthansa and Fly Dubai have also cancelled flights to Addis Ababa. The Dubbi volcano started erupting early Monday morning.

The eruption has also curtailed U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's two-day visit to Ethiopia. Clinton arrived in Addis Ababa on Monday but left the same day.
Lufthansa said on its website that it had suspended a flight out of Asmara on Monday and another flight into Addis Ababa. It gave no explanation for the cancellations.

Djibouti announced today that it had closed its airspace and the main airport yesterday due to the ash cloud. Airlines in Djibouti delayed their departures, while arrivals were also postponed. 

U.S. officials said they had been informed that Ethiopia was considering shutting down Addis Ababa's international airport as the ash cloud head toward the capital. The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority however has not confirmed such plans.

Satellite images suggested Sudanese airspace could also be affected.

Source: The Reporter, Reuters, Bloomberg