My first day in Iceland this past August was clear and sunny, a vacationer’s dream. And it turned out to be a great day to squeeze in a sightseeing activity I hadn’t initially signed up to do: fly over the Reykjanes peninsula in a helicopter to get a top-down view of an active volcanic eruption, specifically Sundhnúksgígar.
Ryan Connolly from Hidden Iceland, a tour company who helped me organize my trip, suggested the last-minute helicopter ride because a volcano on the southwestern edge of the island had recently become active. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I paid for the helicopter tour from my phone at 1 pm after having arrived in Iceland that morning at 6:15. After a brief nap at the hotel, I drove two hours to the meeting point, which is located 10 minutes from the city of Reykjavík, for a 7 pm flight that evening.
The helicopter seated six people total, including the pilot, with little wiggle room. Based on the heights and weights of me and my fellow passengers, I was strategically placed in the back-right of the helicopter. The cabin had glass windows from the roof to the floor so we could take in the full view of the landscape. We all put on headsets fitted with microphones, the only way we could communicate with one another over the noise of the helicopter’s thudding blades.
Within minutes of take-off, the pilot described the sights below, which at first included the city but soon became a vast, vacant, black land. As the helicopter dipped to the right, the erupting volcano came into full view with magma rising and sparking red and orange, a stark contrast to the black earth. We could see the magma ooze down the side, becoming thinner and more subdued as it moved farther down from the slope. The pilot circled the volcano a few times so passengers on the left and right each got a good look before flying to a nearby dormant volcano and explaining its history.
Safety Regulations
Jón Grétar Sigurðsson, owner of Atlantsflug, the helicopter touring company I used, explains that planning for these flights has become standard since the eruptions have become more common. “We fly in accordance with aviation regulations. Usually when an eruption starts, the area is closed for everybody. But now the Icelandic government has set up certain flight routes we follow and certain procedures, [including] distances of how close we can come and what altitude we have to stay at.”
When I arrived that evening, the flight before me had been delayed. So, I waited in the office with the other guests where we chatted, had coffee, and watched a live feed of the volcano.
Overall, there are two main reasons why a flight may be delayed or canceled. “Sometimes the area is closed to all operations because the government is doing some measurements,” says Sigurðsson. “Something that can happen without much notice. The weather can also be a factor, especially in the wintertime. If there is a delay on the first one or two flights, we have usually picked it up on the third flight to get on contract again.”
How They Monitor Volcanic Activity
According to Sigurðsson, the government in Iceland is tuned into the volcanic activity and is monitoring it constantly. “It’s like a patient in constant care at the hospital,” he says. “I would say they’re measuring very extensively and watch the lifting of the ground in millimeters. On the graph, we see when the eruption started and then the ground sinks down again. While the eruption is ongoing, and starts to climb up again, we know magma is collecting in the same chamber. I was showing the pilot this morning that there’s a definite increase in the uplifting of the area, and it’s a duplicate of what happened last time.”
Volcanic eruptions are a regular occurrence in Iceland and something Sigurðsson says they can expect for the next 30 to 100 years.
My helicopter ride on that August night lasted about 40 minutes, with the six of us circling the volcano from the left side to the right and back again. Smoke was billowing out but headed in the opposite direction of our flight pattern, giving us a clear view of the volcano. As the pilot flew us to the airport, I could see the ground become more populated again before we descended toward the earth. A smooth landing got me on the ground, and I headed to my hotel that night glad to have been in the right place at the right time.
Note: Since this article was written there has been another eruption in a similar location. According to Connolly of Hidden Iceland, it is still “business as usual for international flights, main roads, local infrastructure, and travel to anywhere other than the eruption site, which includes Grindavík and the Blue Lagoon.” At the moment, the only safe way to see the volcano is by helicopter.
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