Ethiopia Volcano Ash Hits Flights And Danakil Tours

Published on Nov 24, 2025, 3:37 pm CST

8 min read

Key points

Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia erupted on November 23, 2025, sending ash up to about 45,000 feet and across the Red Sea
Ash cloud is drifting toward Yemen, Oman, and northern India, and regulators in India have already triggered diversions and route adjustments
Tourists and guides on Danakil Depression overland trips have been stranded by ash fall and temporary movement limits in Afar
Eruption has stopped but Toulouse VAAC still tracks a large ash and sulfur dioxide plume moving east at flight levels used by long haul jets
Trips that rely on Addis Ababa and trans Red Sea or India Gulf air corridors now carry elevated last minute reroute and delay risk
Travelers booked on Danakil expeditions should monitor operators closely, review security advisories, and be ready to defer or reroute plans

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect the greatest aviation impacts on long haul corridors linking India, the Gulf, East Africa, and Europe that cross the Red Sea and Arabian Peninsula airspace influenced by the Hayli Gubbi ash cloud
Best Times To Fly: Earlier departures on days when ash forecasts look marginal give more rebooking options if routes must shift and can reduce overnight misconnect risk
Onward Travel And Changes: Leave wider buffers for connections through Addis Ababa and major Gulf hubs and avoid tight self made connections on separate tickets until ash forecasts stabilize
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check itineraries that cross the Red Sea or northern Indian airspace against airline alerts and VAAC based forecasts, then move discretionary trips or adjust routings where possible
Health And Safety Factors: For Danakil and Afar trips, factor ash inhalation, extreme heat, and existing security warnings together and only proceed with robust operators, proper gear, and flexible exit plans

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A sudden eruption at the long dormant Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia's Afar region on November 23, 2025, has pushed Ethiopia volcano ash flights risk from background to immediate concern, as ash clouds climb into key air routes and settle over communities near the Danakil Depression. Ash plumes rose to roughly 45,000 feet, blanketed areas around Afdera in ash, and drifted across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman. Early reports from Afar say tourists and guides headed for the Danakil have been stranded in an ash covered village as local authorities limit movement. Long haul flights that normally cross this corridor are already seeing diversions as regulators warn airlines to avoid affected airspace. Travelers using Addis Ababa, Gulf hubs, or Danakil tours over the next several days should assume plans may shift at short notice and build in buffers and fallback options.

The practical change for travelers is that a confirmed Hayli Gubbi eruption and documented ash cloud now make Ethiopia volcano ash flights a live operational issue for routes between East Africa, the Gulf, India, and Europe, and add fresh environmental constraints on already high risk overland trips into the Danakil Depression.

Background: Hayli Gubbi And The Danakil Corridor

Hayli Gubbi sits in Ethiopia's Afar Rift, close to the Danakil Depression, a region known for extreme heat, active faults, and nearby volcanoes such as Erta Ale. The Smithsonian linked records put its last known eruption at least 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, which means the November 23 activity is the first confirmed Holocene eruption. Satellite based analysis by VAAC Toulouse and independent monitoring groups shows an eruption that began around 830 a.m. UTC on November 23, with ash heights increasing through the day before eruptive activity ceased by around 800 p.m. UTC.

By early November 24, VAAC advisories described residual ash at roughly 17,000 to 20,000 feet over Ethiopia and a split plume with higher level material drifting east and northeast across the Red Sea, Yemen, and Oman toward the western Indian Ocean and northern India. Local officials quoted by international media report no deaths so far but widespread ash fall on grazing lands and villages around Afdera, raising longer term livelihood concerns for pastoral communities.

How The Ash Cloud Affects Flights

For aviation, the core issue is not whether Hayli Gubbi is still erupting at the summit, but that a large ash and sulfur dioxide cloud remains at flight levels used by long haul jets connecting Africa, the Gulf, India, and Europe. VAAC dispersion maps and meteorological analyses show ash and gas at altitudes up to about 46,000 feet moving east and northeast across Yemen and Oman, then curving toward northern India and possibly Pakistan.

Indian aviation regulators have already told airlines to monitor the plume and avoid ash affected airspace, warning that clouds could reach areas near Jamnagar by the evening of November 24 and pose risks for corridors serving Delhi and Jaipur. One concrete example is IndiGo flight 6E 1433 from Kannur to Abu Dhabi, which diverted to Ahmedabad on November 24 after ash forecasts flagged hazards along its planned route to the Gulf.

Major carriers that rely on trans Red Sea and northern Arabian Sea tracks, including Ethiopian Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Saudia, and Gulf based low cost airlines, have the tools to shift tracks around the highest concentrations, but each reroute can add time, fuel, or scheduling friction. Global aviation practice treats volcanic ash as a no go hazard, because even thin clouds can melt inside jet engines, abrade windscreens, and interfere with instruments, so airlines will typically cancel or reroute rather than attempt to fly through the affected layers.

Travelers connecting between India and Europe, or between East Africa and North America or Asia, are most likely to feel these changes as slightly longer flight times, unplanned tech stops, or occasional cancellations if clean air routes become crowded or constrained. Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) remains open and is not under a direct ash closure, but its role as a hub means that ripples from rerouted long haul services could tighten rebooking space for missed connections over the next few days.

Danakil Tours, Afar Roads, And Security Baseline

On the ground, Hayli Gubbi's ash has created a new layer of risk for Danakil Depression tours that were already among the more demanding and controversial offerings in East Africa. AP reporting and Afar regional communications indicate that tourists and guides heading toward the Danakil have been stranded in at least one ash covered village near Afdera, as local officials restrict movement while they assess conditions.

Long before this eruption, multiple governments warned against travel to parts of Afar and the Danakil corridor, citing armed attacks on tourist groups in 2007, 2012, and 2017, sporadic clashes along the Addis Ababa to Djibouti road, and very limited medical or evacuation capacity. Official advisories from the United States and peers describe an overall Level 3, Reconsider Travel, rating for Ethiopia, with do not travel zones in portions of Afar and near the Eritrea border, and stress that Danakil trips are beyond the areas where consular staff can easily assist.

Specialist tour operators that run Danakil expeditions already frame the region as remote and austere, emphasizing brutal heat, basic camps, and scarce medical support even when security is calm. Adding volcanic ash on roads, vehicles, lungs, and water supplies makes this a poor moment to treat Danakil as an adventure add on to a wider Ethiopia itinerary, especially for travelers with respiratory or cardiac conditions.

How Volcanic Ash Disrupts Aviation

Volcanic ash is made of tiny, abrasive rock and glass fragments that can stay aloft for days at cruising altitudes. When a jet flies through a dense cloud, those particles can sandblast cockpit windows, contaminate sensors and pitot tubes, and, most critically, melt inside the hot sections of engines, where they can re solidify and choke airflow. That is why global procedures treat ash as something to avoid entirely, not a mild inconvenience similar to dust or haze.

VAACs such as Toulouse, Darwin, and Washington issue near real time ash advisories with position, height, and forecast movement polygons that are fed into airline dispatch systems and flight planning tools. Dispatchers then adjust routes or altitudes to keep aircraft out of those volumes, often by shifting to more southerly or northerly tracks or delaying flights while plumes move through. In tight chokepoints, such as the corridors around Yemen, Oman, and the Arabian Sea that Hayli Gubbi's plume is now crossing, these avoidance maneuvers can stack delays and create knock on congestion for hubs in the Gulf and East Africa.

Recent Adept Traveler coverage of ash events around Mount Semeru in Indonesia and Fuego in Guatemala shows a similar pattern, with relatively small eruptions causing widespread schedule changes because of the need to keep turbine aircraft away from even thin ash veils.

Practical Steps For Travelers

If you already hold tickets that cross the Red Sea, Yemen, Oman, or northern Indian airspace over the next 48 to 72 hours, the first step is to check your carrier's app or website for travel alerts referencing Hayli Gubbi or Ethiopian volcanic ash. Focus on itineraries that tie India to Europe or the Gulf, and on long haul services linking East Africa to North America or Asia, which are most likely to share air corridors with the current ash plume.

Where possible, aim for earlier departures in the day and avoid tight self built connections. Two to three hours should be treated as a minimum for same day connections through Addis Ababa or major Gulf hubs, with even more slack if separate tickets or checked baggage are involved. Travelers who are flexible on dates can reduce stress further by shifting discretionary trips off the next couple of days while forecast models and VAAC advisories clarify how long meaningful ash concentrations will linger at cruise altitudes.

For Danakil and Afar itineraries, the bar should be higher. Given the combination of fresh ash on the ground, a remote desert environment, and long standing security warnings, the most conservative choice is to postpone or reroute rather than push ahead simply because a tour is technically still on the books. If you decide to proceed, work only with established operators who can show current local contacts and contingency plans, insist on written confirmation of what happens if routes close or you need to exit early, and travel with appropriate respiratory protection, eye protection, and extra water.

Finally, anyone connecting through Ethiopia should revisit broader risk guidance. The Level 3, Reconsider Travel, advisory and regional do not travel zones have not changed because of Hayli Gubbi alone, but the eruption is a reminder that infrastructure and communications can be stressed in multiple ways at once. Treat Ethiopia volcano ash flights as one more reason to avoid razor thin timing, to keep accommodation and insurance flexible, and to maintain backup routes that can bypass affected airspace if forecasts or advisories worsen.