Argentina - Volcanic eruption closes Bariloche airport.

Bariloche airport has had to close due to the eruption of the Chilean Puyehue Volcano 100kms away.
The city is covered in thick ash and is not accessible by road or air. Citizens are being advised to stay indoors.

More here (http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/69123/bariloche-southern-chile-on-red-alert-after-volcano-eruption).

Wow.... just read this and turned on the TV, I had heard about an earthquake in Chile but didnt catch the volcanic activity..... :eek:

Oh awesome. We were trying to bus to Santiago from Mendoza and got turned back because of snow in the mountains. We just now got back from swapping the ticket to go to...Bariloche.

Bariloche can be a great place... just stay away from downtown.

I was in San Martin de los Andes and Bariloche in December and there was an earthquake, first time ever experiencing that. I guess I am lucky the volcano didnt erupt while I was there.
Is this gonna turn into South America's Eyjafjallajokul...

They reckon (http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/69326/puyehue-ash-cloud-may-reach-ba-city-by-tuesday-experts-assure) the ash cloud could move into Buenos Aires province today.

They reckon (http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/69326/puyehue-ash-cloud-may-reach-ba-city-by-tuesday-experts-assure) the ash cloud could move into Buenos Aires province today.

Since you are out in the goonies... please report back with breaking news once you get enough stuff on your car to take a few pics.... :p

I gather you are at least 300kms West of the city of Buenos Aires, or...?

Since you are out in the goonies... please report back with breaking news once you get enough stuff on your car to take a few pics.... :p

I gather you are at least 300kms West of the city of Buenos Aires, or...?

100 miles SW.

Sun is very hazy apart from that all is okay. This (http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/69407/volcanic-ash-cloud-reaches-buenos-aires) latest picture of BA seems a bit dramatic though....looks more like morning fog to me.
EZE is said to be closed although not confirmed.

EZE is closed for all flights Westbound, and also for most Northbound... I just heard that the only flights that are operating on schedule are Eastbound, so all flights to Europe are OK.

EZE is closed for all flights Westbound, and also for most Northbound... I just heard that the only flights that are operating on schedule are Eastbound, so all flights to Europe are OK.AA landed flights from the US this morning and has departures scheduled this evening. All other US carriers canceled flights departing EZE last night.

The best way to check on the current situation is http://www.aa2000.com.ar/

Visibility has got appreciably worse here over the last half hour so I guess reports are correct about the ash cloud moving in this direction.

This pix shows where the ash is blowing:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/06/07/2015254295.jpg

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015253816_apltargentinavolcanoflights.html

Can't see a time/date for the photo but it would seem the plume is well south of Bs As, and seems to be going over Bahia Blanca as it heads out into the Atlantic.

I have a feeling that might have been taken yesterday. It has moved further north and was definitely overhead today.It cleared for a while just before sunset....the stars even came out. Just been out with the dogs and it appears to be back...no stars and the moon is hardly visible through it. So much depends on the wind direction of course.

Can't see a time/date for the photo but it would seem the plume is well south of Bs As, and seems to be going over Bahia Blanca as it heads out into the Atlantic.It's a NASA image taken yesterday June 6 at 14:25 UTC (10:25 a.m. EDT).
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/556896main_20110606-chile-img3-lrg.jpg

I just saw a video of a guy scuba diving en lago Nahuel Huapi that is covered in volcanic ash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlYA9ZA-D9E

At the end when he submerges, there is just something eerie about it.

Gosh that was weird....he didn't look too keen on going under. :D

I fished that lake a few years ago. Beautiful place, let's hope the wildlife haven't suffered too much although I have fears that some damage must be inevitable.

I have friends that live in Bariloche that tell me that its not only this winters season that will be hit, but that the summer season will also suffer... some say it may take up to 18 months for Bariloche and the other areas to get back to normal... :(

I pray that these estimates are wrong and that things lighten up soon....

I too hope they are wrong because I was planning to go there in three weeks.

Pretty dull photos here, but this could soon be covered by snow.

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1381968-las-cenizas-del-volcan-dejaran-perdidas-economicas-millonarias

Must be one helluva ash cloud. Aviation within Australia and to NZ has been in total chaos for most of this week due to it.

I too hope they are wrong because I was planning to go there in three weeks.

Pretty dull photos here, but this could soon be covered by snow.

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1381968-las-cenizas-del-volcan-dejaran-perdidas-economicas-millonarias

A ton of snow would be a good thing for this area.... you plan on skiing..?

The ash cloud from the Puyehue volcanic eruption in Chile has affected also flights to and from Cape Town.


P.S. Didn't realize that was the on the Argentina thread :o

I'm flying to Buenos Aires this Friday and to Bariloche next Saturday, and can't get a straight answer from my airline (LANChile). Has anyone heard anything about if/when Bariloche will reopen?

I'm flying to Buenos Aires this Friday and to Bariloche next Saturday, and can't get a straight answer from my airline (LANChile). Has anyone heard anything about if/when Bariloche will reopen?Probably next Friday, but what flights might operate if they open the airport is as yet unknown ...
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1384305-el-viernes-regresan-los-aviones-a-bariloche

Probably next Friday, but what flights might operate if they open the airport is as yet unknown ...
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1384305-el-viernes-regresan-los-aviones-a-barilocheOpening has been delayed again until at least July 8:
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1385318-postergan-otra-vez-la-apertura-del-aeropuerto-de-bariloche

Still issues with the Ash.

The IAD-EZE flight July 7, UA 847 took off fine and on time at around 10pm local.

The same flight the night before was cancelled due to the Chile volcano ash issues.

About 9 hours into the 10 hour flight – just as I assumed we were nearly at Buenos Aires, Captain announces he had aborted the flight and has turned back, and we will be landing in Miami in an hour or two.

Darn. We have all sorts of prepaid hotels and tours and flights to Bolivia from EZE, so too bad on those.

We boarded at IAD at 9.30pm local and arrived back at gate 3.30pm – or 18 hours on this plane. Thank goodness for Suites.

We head off again tonight and will now have a few days in EZE and not Bolivia. ,

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-mileage-plus-pre-merger/1234920-iad-eze-767-turns-back-half-way-can-i-get-eqms-flight.html

Glen.... do you know if you can get insurance to cover for your prepaid losses...? Check with your credit card issuer(s)....

Alex .. yes but I think in Australia there is an customer excess of the first $500 or something, so these things often are revenue neutral! :D

The hotel here downtown was thankfully very understanding, as a lot of folks were affected of course, and allowed us to use the 2 nights we should have lost payment for, for the 3 nights were are here, so that worked fine in the end, and they gained an extra night stay really.

If you or others are about for a coffee etc in the next few days, please drop me an email. We are up at the San Martin Square end of Florida Ave :)

Glen

Glen.... I have a crazy week because Im going on vacation next week, but I will be having Peruvian Japanese fusion for lunch with another FTers this Friday, I will be booking a table at the Palermo branch of Ceviche... if you are in town and want to join us, let me know.

http://www.ceviche.com.ar/