Will Montserrat Volcano Interfere with Caribbean Travel?

(April 26) The recent Iceland volcanic eruption forces travelers to consider the effect of these natural explosions on their vacation plans.

In the Caribbean, Montserrat is a potential volcanic threat.  In 1995, two-thirds of the island’s population was forced to flee abroad by the eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano.  Today, the eruption continues, but on a much lesser scale.  Damage is confined to areas around Plymouth including the docking facilities and the former W.H. Bramble Airport. 

This year, volcanic activity has increased.  On February 5, 2010, a volcanic explosion sent pyroclastic flows down the mountain and several days later a partial collapse of the lava dome send a column of ash of more than 20,000 feet into the air that clouded over neighboring islands Guadeloupe and Antigua.

When Montserrat’s volcano erupts, winds billow up clouds of ash and may impede visibility for smaller airplanes.  While smaller planes cannot fly from the big Caribbean hub in San Juan Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands or St. Martin area, larger airplanes seem to have no problem flying over the volcanic debris.

For additional information about the Montserrat volcanoes, visit the Montserrat Volcano Observatory’s website.