Flights to major airports in Argentina and Uruguay were suspended yesterday as a dangerous ash cloud from the Puyehue volcano in neighbouring Chile began to drift into the countries’ airspace.
Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires was shut down, and flights at Ezeiza airport south of the Argentinian capital were also grounded.
Both international and domestic flights have been affected in Argentina, including routes to Mendoza on the steps of the Andes mountains and Ushuaia in the far south. Bariloche airport is also currently closed.
British Airways confirmed that it had cancelled its daily B777 flight from London to Buenos Aires yesterday.
American Airlines, Lufthansa, TAM and Gol have also cancelled a number of their flights to the Argentinian capital.
Argentina’s transport secretary Juan Pablo told reporters that officials were waiting for the ash cloud to pass before the airlines operating out of the airport could resume their operations.
dailymail.co.uk