PAPUA, NEW GUINEA – INTERNATIONAL – A volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea on Friday (August 29) sent smoke and ash spewing high over the South Pacific island nation, leading some aircraft to alter their flight paths.
Mount Tavurvur on Rabaul on East New Britain Island erupted hours before dawn, a bulletin from the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory said. There have been no reports of injuries.
Qantas said that it was altering the path of a handful of international flights in the area, but that it would add only about five minutes to their scheduled time.
Qantas spokeswoman Sarah Algar said “Flight paths between Sydney and Narita and Sydney and Shanghai have been altered as a result of the volcanic ash cloud over Rabaul in eastern Papua New Guinea”.The QF21, QF22 and QF130 will now fly over central Papua New Guinea to avoid the cloud. The new flight paths will not impact the flight time dramatically.
