MOSCOW — Two volcanoes erupted Thursday on Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, tossing massive ash clouds miles into the air, forcing flights to divert and blanketing one town with thick, heavy ash.
The Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Eurasia's highest active volcano, exploded along with the Shiveluch volcano, 45 miles to the northeast, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's branch in Kamchatka said, adding that flights in the area had to change course.
Ash clouds from the remote volcanoes billowed up to 33,000 feet and were spreading east across the Pacific Ocean, vulcanologist Sergei Senyukov told Rossiya 24 television. Streams of lava flowed down the slopes of Shiveluch.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday issued a notice to pilots that they should remain alert for possible ash clouds, saying emissions have "intermittently complicated air travel" in the area of the Kamchatkan Peninsula.
"Any air carriers, including foreign air carriers, that observe or experience any difficulties resulting from an encounter with volcanic ash, please notify air traffic control immediately," the notice said
Several pilots have reported seeing ash clouds in the Alaskan region, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. However, the ash has been below 25,000 feet, while planes are assigned altitudes above that level so there was no difficulty, she said. Thus far FAA hasn't issued any flight restrictions due to ash, she said.
The FAA spokeswoman Tammy Jones said the agency does not anticipate any impact from the eruptions on air traffic to the United States.
The Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Eurasia's highest active volcano, exploded along with the Shiveluch volcano, 45 miles to the northeast, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's branch in Kamchatka said, adding that flights in the area had to change course. Ash clouds from the remote volcanoes billowed up to 33,000 feet and were spreading east across the Pacific Ocean, vulcanologist Sergei Senyukov told Rossiya 24 television. Streams of lava flowed down the slopes of Shiveluch.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday issued a notice to pilots that they should remain alert for possible ash clouds, saying emissions have "intermittently complicated air travel" in the area of the Kamchatkan Peninsula.
"Any air carriers, including foreign air carriers, that observe or experience any difficulties resulting from an encounter with volcanic ash, please notify air traffic control immediately," the notice said
Several pilots have reported seeing ash clouds in the Alaskan region, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. However, the ash has been below 25,000 feet, while planes are assigned altitudes above that level so there was no difficulty, she said. Thus far FAA hasn't issued any flight restrictions due to ash, she said.
The FAA spokeswoman Tammy Jones said the agency does not anticipate any impact from the eruptions on air traffic to the United States.
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