Ethiopia's Hayli Gubbi volcano erupted for the first time in nearly 10,000 years, prompting India to issue aviation alerts as ash clouds drifted across several northern states. Major carriers, including IndiGo and Akasa Air, adjusted their operations in response to the shifting plume as the impact on airspace became clearer.

Authorities instructed airports to maintain heightened readiness as the ash cloud, travelling rapidly at high altitudes, entered Gujarat before moving over Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. At Delhi airport, several international flights bound for destinations such as Hong Kong, Dubai, Jeddah, Helsinki, Kabul and Frankfurt were delayed, reflecting the wider operational disruption.

The precautionary alert over the volcanic ash cloud from Ethiopia's Hayli Gubbi volcano has been lifted. The latest analysis confirms the ash plume, which had previously caused flight disruptions, has safely moved away from Northern India and is dispersing into the upper atmosphere over China and the Pacific.

The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in the Afar region about 800 km northeast of Addis Ababa, remained quiet for nearly 12,000 years. It erupted for several hours and blanketed the neighbouring village of Afdera in ash.

Experts described the occurrence as highly unusual, saying how "understudied" the region's volcanic activity was.

Arianna Soldati, a volcanologist at North Carolina State University, told Scientific American Magazine, "So long as there are still the conditions for magma to form, a volcano can still have an eruption even if it hasn't had one in 1,000 years, 10,000 years."

The volcano in Ethiopia's Afar region erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years and spewed clouds of toxic gases, gravel, and fine ash, which satellites tracked across the Red Sea region and the Arabian Peninsula, and over Pakistan, before crossing over into Indian skies.

Ahmed Abdela, a resident of the Afar region, said he heard a loud sound and what he described as a shock wave after the volcano erupted.

"It felt like a sudden bomb had been thrown with smoke and ash," Abdela said.

The Afdera village was still covered in ash on Monday, and tourists and guides heading to the nearby Danakil desert were stranded in the village, according to Abdela.

Ash clouds from volcanic activity in Ethiopia are drifting towards China and will move away from India by 7:30 pm on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department said. Ash plumes from the recent eruption of the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia impacted flight operations in India on Monday.

Forecast models indicated ash influence over Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the ash clouds are drifting towards China and will move away from Indian skies by 7:30 pm.

Several Air India flights, including services to Chennai and Mumbai, have been cancelled as a precautionary measure following the eruption of an Ethiopian volcano.

Akasa Air cancelled its international flights to and from Jeddah, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi for November 24 and 25, after a massive volcanic ash plume from recent activity in Ethiopia spread across key flight corridors linking India and the Gulf.

The airline said the ash, generated by the eruption, created unsafe flying conditions across affected routes. "Following recent volcanic activity in Ethiopia and the resulting ash plume in the surrounding airspace, our flights to and from Jeddah, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi scheduled for 24th and 25th November 2025 have been cancelled," an Akasa Air spokesperson said. 

Passengers were offered either a full refund or complimentary rebooking within seven days.

The ash plume from the volcanic activity in Ethiopia mostly consists of sulphur dioxide with low to moderate concentrations of volcanic ash. It will not impact AQI levels but it will impact So2 level in Nepal, Himalayas and adjoining Terai belt of Uttar Pradesh.

Several flights were cancelled, and Indian airlines and airports were issued an advisory to deal with possible disruptions due to an ash plume from the volcanic activity in Ethiopia on Monday. The ash cloud is now moving over northern India.