Costa Rica Airport Shuts Down Amid Major Volcanic Eruption

Costa Rica's Juan Santamaria International Airport, which is the primary airport serving the country's capital, will be closed until at least 8 a. m. local time (14:00 GMT) on Friday, as the ash from the erupting Turrialba Volcano has disrupted the airport's operation, The Tico Times reports.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Costa Rica's Juan Santamaria International Airport closed at around 4 p. m. local time (22:00 GMT) on Thursday, according to the Costa Rica-based newspaper, which cites airport spokeswoman Silvia Chavez as saying that the Juan Santamaria International Airport will remain closed until at least Friday morning with its re-opening depending on the overnight activity of Turrialba Volcano.

According to Costa Rican Public Security Ministry's Air Surveillance Service, volcanic ash poses a risk to planes, The Tico Times explains.

Turrialba Volcano, located in Costa Rica's central Cartago Province, erupted three times on Thursday, sending volcanic ash more than 1 kilometer (about 3,280 feet) into the air. Winds carried the ash 67 kilometers (42 miles) from the volcano to the country's capital, San Jose.

Costa Rica's National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Management announced that an evacuation has been launched in several settlements in the Turrialba Volcano region. According to the commission, Turrialba's Thursday activity was the most powerful eruption of the volcano since 1996.

Turrialba has three craters and is among Costa Rica's largest volcanoes. It had at least five large explosive eruptions in the past 3500 years.