Volcanic eruption in Russia causes flight cancellations in northwest BC

Some flights from northwest British Columbia are canceled due to ash from a Russian volcano that erupted thousands of miles away.

Air Canada says it is monitoring the Shiveluch volcano ash plume that led to the cancellation of some of its regional flights to and from Prince Rupert and Terrace on Thursday.

An email said further schedule adjustments could be made depending on the direction of the ash plume.

The volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, about 4,300 kilometers west of Terrace, erupted on Tuesday, sending up an ash plume 10 kilometers high.

Prince Rupert resident Linda Nguyen, who oversaw her fiancé Spencer Loch’s flight from Vancouver to Terrace, initially didn’t believe the reason for the cancellation.

“I thought that was a joke,” she said.

Eventually, after several delays and cancellations, Loch drove a hired car with some stranded fellow passengers to Prince George and from there caught a flight to Terrace.

“It’s an extreme sport trying to fly in and out of the North,” Nguyen said.

The volcano also thwarted Jamie Komadina’s plans. She had booked a flight from Terrace to Boston to run the Boston Marathon after wanting to for eight years. When it was cancelled, she decided to head to Vancouver and catch a flight from there.

Regardless of the inconvenience, “I’ll get there,” she said.

Across the border, Alaska Airlines also canceled more than two dozen flights in the state, citing safety concerns that volcanic ash can cause a jet engine to shut down.

Carman Hendry, manager of Northwest Regional Airport in Terrace-Kitimat, said WestJet also canceled flights to the airport because the planes had to fly through the ash.

“Better down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing they were down here,” he said in an interview Thursday.

Hendry said he’s not sure how many flights will be affected, but the airport doesn’t expect any more incoming flights for the rest of the day.