Iceland volcano live: Lava erupts on Reykjanes peninsula as flight update given

Tourists have been heading towards a volcanic eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula on Monday, 18 December.

“I’m very excited to be here in this place, in this time, just being able to see this natural phenomenon… It’s just something from a movie,” said Robert Donald Forrester III.

The eruption began a few kilometres from Grindavík, whose nearly 4,000 inhabitants were evacuated last month. Authorities also closed the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.

Reykjavik’s nearby Keflavik International Airport remained open, albeit with numerous delays at both arrivals and departures.

Nicola Maxey, a spokesperson for the UK Met Office, has said: “An effusive eruption started a few km NE of Grindavík nearby Hagafell just after 10pm last night.

“This eruption is an effusive eruption, i.e. mainly lava and gas, and that there is no volcanic ash.

“At this time there is no impact on aviation. Vigorous lava fountains are clearly visible from cameras and radar images, while they reach around 500m in height they do not contain any ash.”

Since then the Icelandic Met Office has said the intensity of the volcanic eruption is slowly decreasing.

They added: “The fact that the activity is decreasing already is not an indication of how long the eruption will last, but rather that the eruption is reaching a state of equilibrium.

Flight Radar have said that flights have largely been departing on time despite the enormous volcanic eruption just miles away from Keflavik Airport.

They posted on X: “Our data reveals minimal impact on operations at Keflavik Airport (KEF) following the volcanic eruption at Grindavik, likely due to no ash cloud.

“Just 13 flights have been cancelled in the past 24 hours, representing 5% of departures and 4% of arrivals.”

Flights were earlier delayed for just an hour as the coast guard assessed the danger presented by the eruption just 4km north from Grindavik.

The Icelandic coast guard has revealed their daring overnight operations as they ferried a fishing boat to safety away from the town of Grindavik and helped scientists assess the erupting volcano.

A spokesman wrote on Facebook: “As soon as the command centre of the Coast Guard received a notification that an eruption had started, a helicopter crew was called out to fly with three scientists so that the extent of the eruption, the length of the fissure and the flow of lava could be assessed.

“The guard ship Þór, which was sailing off Sandgerði, was already directed to Grindavík and arrived there around midnight. At the request of Suðurnesj operations management, Þór will remain available at Grindavík until further notice.

They added: “The Coast Guard’s special operations team was sent to the security area at Keflavík Airport to support the activities of the Defense Department.

“One fishing vessel was known to be in the port of Grindavík, the liner Fjölni GK, and in consultation with the shipping company Vísi hf. and the police chief in Suðurnes decided to ferry it from Grindavík.

“The ship’s crew was located in the capital area, and the Coast Guard’s special operations team was responsible for ferrying the crew via Krýsuvíkurleið and Suðurstrandarveg to Grindavík.

“The ship left Grindavík free after five o’clock.”

Icelanders flocked to the Sundhnjúkar crater on Monday evening after a 4km fissure opened up and sent plumes of toxic gas and lava along the ridge of a hill.

“As it stands now, the eruption on Reykjanes does not affect flights. We are closely monitoring the situation and will inform our passengers if there are any changes.

“You can follow the latest information from us on our website, under travel announcements,” says an announcement from Icelandair.

It came as passengers took videos of the glowing skies seen from the tarmac.

A selection of the most jaw-dropping images coming out of Iceland after the eruption at 10.17pm last night.

Former Icelandic president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson posted an astonishing picture of the eruption overshadowing the fishing town of Grindavik.

The now Chairman of Arctic Circle added: “Although the eruption is for now in a safe distance from Grindavik as the photo shows, the long fissure with burning lava is geologically in potentially the most dangerous location.”

The eruptive fissure is about 4km long, with the northern end just east of Stóra-Skógfell and the southern end just east of Sundhnúk.

The distance from the southern end to the edge of Grindavík is almost 3 km.