Eruption cancels flights

NUKU‘ALOFA – Aviation authorities in Tonga grounded all domestic and international flights in the kingdom yesterday.

Air New Zealand planes were diverted or cancelled as volcanic ash from a large eruption near Tonga’s capital spread high into the atmosphere.

The Wellington Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), part of the Metservice, posted a warning saying the Hunga Ha‘apai volcano is sending dark volcanic ash up to 15,000 feet (4500 metres).

Heavy rain and cloud is preventing a clear view of what is happening to the volcano, 63 kilometres north of Nuku’alofa.

An Air New Zealand spokesman said their Airbus A320 flight NZ970 from Auckland to Nuku‘alofa on Monday was diverted to Samoa by the ash. Its return leg was also cancelled.

An additional return service to operate yesterday was also cancelled due to conditions in Tonga.

The regularly scheduled flight was also cancelled.

The airline is to offer additional services later in the week in order to reaccommodate affected customers and is offering travel flexibility for those booked to travel to Tonga.

Other trans-Pacific flights by Air New Zealand have not been affected.

On Monday Fiji Airways flight from Nadi to Tonga turned back near Nuku’alofa.

Airline CEO Stefan Pichler said they would be looking at risk assessments of the situation over Tonga before determining whether they would fly again.

VAAC in their notice say a pilot last night reported volcanic ash also 30,000 feet (9000 metres) within 40 nautical miles (74 kilometres) of the volcano.

“Cannot distinguish ash cloud on satellite due to meteorological cloud,” the centre says.

Hunga Ha’apai is the same volcano that erupted out of the Pacific Ocean in 2009, creating an island.

The latest eruption was first reported by a fisherman who came back from the area on December 19.

The volcano sits on the edge of the Tonga–Kermadec Trench with runs from Samoa through Tonga and down the New Zealand east coast.