South American ash cloud causes major disruptions

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BUENOS AIRES: The vast ash cloud spewing from Chile's Puyehue volcano caused major disruption to South American air travel on Thursday, grounding hundreds of flights and upsetting regional diplomacy.

All flights in and out of the Argentine capital were halted, as well as most arriving or departing the Uruguayan capital Montevideo, forcing President Jose Mujica to postpone a Buenos Aires meeting with his Argentine counterpart.

As the travel misery intensified, organizers were also forced to delay Friday's first annual meeting in Buenos Aires of finance ministers from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) regional bloc. No new date was set.

The volcano, which rumbled to life on Saturday for the first time since 1960, is high in the Andes mountains, 870 kilometers (540 miles) south of the Chilean capital Santiago, near the border with Argentina.

Winds have spread the ash across much of southern Argentina, threatening to hurt tourism at the start of the winter ski season, as well as into Uruguay and southern Brazil, where airlines suspended flights "at least" until Friday.

Chilean volcano monitors said Puyehue was belching ash columns that reached nearly 7.5 kilometers (4.6 miles) into the sky.

A Buenos Aires aviation official said the ash was some 9,000 meters (29,000 feet) above the Argentine capital, adding that planes generally fly at 10,000 meters (33,000 feet).

Volcanic ash "is very dangerous, very abrasive for plane engines, and could result in very serious complications," warned Argentine Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi.

At Jorge Newbery International Airport in Buenos Aires, some travelers were clearly beginning to despair, while others waited anxiously for loved ones. (AFP)