DGCA tells airlines to avoid ash-affected altitudes after Ethiopia eruption

The regulator has asked airlines to strictly avoid ash-affected airspace, revise flight planning and enhance monitoring after the Hayli Gubbi volcano eruption sent a plume drifting toward Indian skies

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday instructed all Indian airlines to revise flight-planning, modify fuel intake, and "strictly" avoid flight altitudes and regions that are affected by the ash cloud resulting from the eruption of Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia.

 

This volcano, located in Ethiopia’s Afar Rift, erupted on Sunday for the first time in more than 10,000 years, spewing a dense ash plume up to 45,000 feet. The cloud is drifting northeast at 100-120 kilometre per hour (kmph), and entered Indian airspace on Monday evening. IndiGo’s Kannur-Abu Dhabi flight 6E1433 was diverted to Ahmedabad on Monday due to this cloud.

 

In its directive, the aviation regulator said airlines must ensure that flight crew and aircraft engineers follow the prescribed procedures for operations in and around volcanic ash. “Airlines must maintain continuous monitoring of the situation. Any suspected ash encounter must be immediately reported,” the DGCA said.

 

It added that operations manuals must be reviewed to ensure that the sections dealing with volcanic ash, including post-flight inspections of engines and airframes for any aircraft that may have operated near the affected region, are fully implemented.

 

The regulator stated that the airlines must continually monitor volcanic ash advisory, NOTAM/ASHTAM updates, and meteorological data.

 

The DGCA stated that all flight crew and dispatch teams must ensure that there is a "strict avoidance of published volcanic ash-affected areas and flight levels", and that they should adjust "flight planning, routing and fuel considerations" based on latest advisories about these affected altitudes and regions.

 

The regulator’s directive was issued after the issuance of an ASHTAM and a volcanic ash advisory by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). An ASHTAM is a special message issued to aviation operators when a volcanic eruption or ash cloud poses a hazard to aircraft; it updates pilots and airlines on the exact area, altitude, and movement of the ash. A NOTAM, by contrast, is a standard notice to air missions which communicates any change or condition — such as runway closures, airspace restrictions, or hazards — that pilots need to be aware of. In this case, the ASHTAM serves as a focused warning, specifically for volcanic-ash contamination.