Low-cost Play Airlines has decided to make use of the third volcanic eruption in the Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula as a ticket-selling opportunity. While residents are being evacuated from the town of Grindavík and the famous Blue Lagoon spa in Svartsengi remains closed, the airline is trying to profit from the admittedly impressive views of the eruption sites.
After being dormant for about 800 years, the volcanoes in the Reykjanes Peninsula awakened in 2020, with 6 eruptions recorded since 2021, 3 of which occurring just in the past two months. The first eruption took place on 19 December, following weeks of seismic activities and preventive evacuations.
At the time, authorities warned that, unlike milder eruptions that occur in Iceland where visiting the site is possible and sometimes creates tourism attractions, like the new baby volcano appearing last summer in the same peninsula, the eruption off Grindavík’s coast is not a tourist attraction and people should stay away from the site. A second eruption occurred on 14 January, prompting new evacuations and the re-closing of Blue Lagoon, 4 km north of Grindavík, which had just reopened.
The third eruption took place on 8 February and, jumping on the opportunity, Play Airlines shared social media posts with the “Small eruption – no disruption! 🌋caption, advertising the airborne views of the volcanos as reasons to book last minute flights to Iceland. “Grab a last minute flight to Iceland and see this spectacular natural phenomenon with your own eyes!👀”, “Do you need more convincing to book a window seat?👀🌋”, the social media captions read.
In a separate statement, a spokesperson assured the eruption should not cause any disruptions to the airline’s flight schedules. “As we, alongside the Icelandic Meteorological Office, closely monitor the situation, we’re confident our flight schedule will not experience any disruptions”, the spokesperson said, adding that Iceland is used to eruptions and “has some of the most advanced volcanic preparedness systems in the world to safeguard the public and is well prepared for every eventuality”.
The eruption was over by the afternoon of the 9th of February. “No eruptive activity was observed in a drone-flight over the eruptive site carried out at noon today (9 February) by the Special Unit of the National Police Commissioner. This suggests that the eruption is ending. Volcanic tremor is no longer being detected on seismic sensors”, the Icelanding Met Office confirmed. While no houses were reached by the latest eruption, hot water distribution to the peninsula was affected, with authorities working to fix the pipes. Moreover, scientists fear the eruptions are be the beginning of a cycle that could last for decades.
