(Adds Binter cancelling all flights)
MADRID, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Local Canary Island carrier
Binter said on Friday it had cancelled all flights to La Palma
due to the volcano eruption https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/canaries-volcano-blasts-lava-into-air-ash-blankets-area-2021-09-23,
while Spanish airline Iberia cancelled its only flight
scheduled for the day.
Binter said in an statement that it was forced to halt its
operations to and from La Palma as the ash cloud produced by the
volcano had worsened considerably in the last few hours.
The local airline, which had initially only cancelled night
flights, said it did not have a time frame to resume operations.
Only a few flights are still scheduled for Friday afternoon
in La Palma, according to the website of Spain's airport
operator Aena.
Since erupting on Sunday, the Cumbre Vieja volcano has
spewed out thousands of tons of lava, destroyed hundreds of
houses and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
A cloud of toxic gas and ash extends more than 4 kilometres
(2.5 miles) into the sky, the Canaries volcanology institute
said on Thursday.
It has begun to drift northeast toward the Mediterranean and
Spanish mainland, the AEMET national weather agency said.
Airspace above the island remains open apart from two small
areas near the eruption site.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo
Editing by Nathan Allen,
Frances Kerry and Louise Heavens)