Don’t panic, but keep alert if you have trans-Atlantic travel plans in the next few weeks. The Icelandic Meteorological Office has reported a sudden flurry of small earthquakes that could be a prelude to an eruption of Bardarbunga, one of the country’s largest volcanoes.
A full-scale eruption, such as occurred in April 2010 at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, can send a huge plume of smoke and ash into the air; depending on wind and air currents at the time, it can stick around, disrupting air traffic for days or weeks. In 2010, the disruption lasted nearly a month.
More details in this story from CBC.CA
I happened to travel to Europe in 2010 fairly soon after air traffic was started back up and there were a lot of hotel bargains to be had whole summer as many people canceled in advance. Then I traveled again in May of 2011 and another volcano disrupted some traffic for a few days and similar bargains were out there.
There can be an up side to travel during an eruption. My plans proceeded during the 2010 eruption and the first result was a southern route to Rome and a spectacular view of the Pyrenees, flying parallel to them. I learned how big those mountains are, had had no idea. After arrival in Rome I immediately booked sleeper compartment tickets from Budapest to London (already had Rome-Budapest), to replace the flight I’d booked. As it transpired, the flight ban was over by the time I got on the train in Budapest and it cost a fortune I hadn’t planned to spend. But I LOVED the train rides and having a private compartment on the night segments. Thank you volcano!