Costa Rica closes 2 airports after volcano eruptions

By Senabri Silvestre

SANTO DOMINGO, Dom. Rep.

Two airports in Costa Rica were temporally closed Monday after ashes spilled from the Turrialba volcano, local authorities said.

Operations at the Juan Santamaria International Airport, the country’s main air terminal, and the Tobias Bolanos airport, were suspended until conditions improve, according to the chief of the Civil Aviation Directorate Ennio Cubillo.

“The particles are not only in the airspace but also on the surfaces of taxing and takeoff," he told local media.

Authorities also considered whether to limit the general aviation activities at the Daniel Oduber International Airport located in the northwest of the Central American nation.

Eight flights were suspended at the Santamaria Airport, from which an estimated 6,238 passengers departed Monday, according to Civil Aviation Directorate figures.

The Turrialba volcano, located in central Costa Rica, erupted several times Monday throwing a column of ash 4,000 meters during the first eruption, followed by one about 1,000 meters high, according to the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica.

The first eruption spewed incandescent rock more than 500 meters high, along with gas and ash, that reached Central Valley communities, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) west of the volcano.