Kanlaon spews mile-high ash

Kanlaon Volcano in Negros island erupted early Tuesday morning, sending a massive gray plume of ash up about three kilometers (1.8 miles) into the sky and launching ballistic projectiles.

One of 24 active volcanoes in the Southeast Asian nation, Kanlaon has had several eruptions in the past century — the most recent of which happened last month.

A level three alert — out of a scale of five — put in place during an eruption in December remained unchanged Tuesday, as officials highlighted an existing six-kilometer (four-mile) evacuation radius.

“A moderately explosive eruption occurred at the summit crater of Kanlaon Volcano at 2:55 a.m. today (1855 GMT Monday),” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said in a statement, adding that it lasted five minutes.

“The eruption generated a greyish voluminous plume that rose approximately 3 kilometers above the vent before drifting to the general west,” it said.

“Large ballistic fragments were also observed to have been thrown around the crater within a few hundred meters and caused burning of vegetation near the volcano summit.”

Stating the continued level three alert, the agency warned there were “increased chances of short-lived moderately explosive eruptions that could generate life-threatening volcanic hazards.”

In August 1996, Kanlaon Volcano erupted, sending a spray of heated rocks that killed three hikers who were near the summit at the time.

On Tuesday morning, a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) regarding flights near the Kanlaon Volcano was issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

The most recent NOTAM, according to CAAP, will go into effect on 13 May 2025, at 5:33 a.m. and run through 14 May at 2:55 a.m.

Kanlaon Volcano is currently on Alert Level 3 (High Level of Volcanic Unrest). Due to the possible risks caused by volcanic ash, flight operators are urged to stay away from flying near the volcano’s summit.

Following the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon, around 2:55 a.m. on 13 May, AirAsia Philippines initially canceled 4 flights due to the Phivolcs declaration of Alert Level 3 (increasing unrest).

The following flights have been canceled:

•Z2603 (Manila-Bacolod)

•Z2604 (Bacolod-Manila)

•Z28601 (Manila-Bacolod)

•Z2602 (Bacolod-Manila)

AirAsia is also making the following options available to guests whose flights have been canceled or delayed longer than three hours:

• Free flight change — Change to any new travel date of choice within 30 days from the original scheduled departure date on the same route without any additional cost, subject to seat availability;

• Credit account — Retain the value of the flight booking in the guest’s AirAsia BIG Member account for future travel with AirAsia to be redeemed within 730 calendar days (two years) from the issuance date. The travel date of the new booking can fall on any date within the published flight schedule on airasia.com;

• Full refund — Obtain a full refund in the amount equivalent to your booking, which will be refunded to the original form of payment. Refund requests can be made with AskBo at support.airasia.com. Refunds for bookings made through travel agents, including online travel agents, must be done via the travel agents from which the booking was made.

Additionally, AirAsia PH advises guests to frequently check airasia.com/flightstatus for flight status, updates and other important announcements.