A NEW volcanic eruption in Iceland shut down the country's air space yesterday, a year after the eruption of nearby Eyjafjallajoekull caused aviation chaos across Europe.
However, experts and aviation authorities said the impact of the Grimsvoetn eruption should not be as far-reaching.
Grimsvoetn, Iceland's most active volcano located at the heart of its biggest glacier Vatnajoekull, began erupting early on Sunday, sending a plume of smoke and ash as high as 20 kilometres.
Ash soon covered nearby villages and reached the capital, Reykjavik, nearly 400 kilometres to the west. ''It's just black outside, it is supposed to be bright daylight,'' Bjorgvin Hardarsson, a farmer, said.
Iceland's airport administration, Isavia, announced yesterday that the country's main airport, Keflavik, was shutting and basically all the country's air space was closing.
Last year's eruption caused the world's biggest air-space shutdown since World War II, lasting almost a month.
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