Is it safe to travel to Iceland right now? Latest Foreign Office travel advice as holidaymakers evacuated after volcano eruption

A volcano in Iceland has erupted for the fourth time in three months forcing residents to evacuate. It comes after the Met Office has warned for weeks that magma accumulating under the ground, making an eruption of the semi-molten rock likely.

Iceland’s Meteorological Office said the eruption opened a fissure about two miles long between Stora-Skogfell and Hagafell mountains on the Reykjanes Peninsula. Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Blue Lagoon thermal spa when the eruption began, national broadcaster RUV said.

The volcano eventually erupted on December 18, sending lava flowing away from Grindavik and a second eruption began on January 14. A third eruption began on February 8 and petered out within hours.

No flight disruptions have been reported at nearby Keflavik, Iceland’s main airport. However, Sky News' correspondent Alex Crawford is among the holidaymakers who have been evacuated following the volcanic eruption in Iceland. She said: “Everyone from all the hotels around Grindavik have been evacuated. We are being taken the long way round, I have seen a lot of police cars, ambulances and a lot of people trying to get out of the area.

“But everyone is being quite calm, it has all been quite orderly. We are all being taken much more inland to a safer place in Reykjavik.”

The Foreign Office updated its travel warnings for Iceland yesterday (Saturday 16 March). The updated advice reads: “Iceland is volcanic and seismically active. Recently there have been a series of volcanic eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula in south-west Iceland, the latest occurring on 16 March. 

“These have affected the town of Grindavik and area to the north of it. All roads to Grindavik and the surrounding area are closed and you should stay away from this area. Keflavik International Airport and the road to it is unaffected and operating normally. 

“The capital city, Reykjavik, and the rest of Iceland is not impacted by the eruptions. The likelihood of further eruptions in this location remains high. You should monitor local media for updates and follow the authorities’ advice on travel to the area.”

Tourists can check alerts from the Icelandic Met Office and Safe Travel Iceland. RUV quoted geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson as saying that the latest eruption is the most powerful so far.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, sees regular eruptions and is highly experienced at dealing with them. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.