Plane Returns To Starting Point After Spending Hours In Air Due To Volcanic Eruption

A KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight en route to Mexico City from Amsterdam had to return to the runway because of a volcanic eruption on Thursday.

“Due to a volcanic eruption in Mexico, the flight KL685 Amsterdam-Mexico returned to Schiphol on Thursday 28 November,” a KLM spokesperson, told The Independent.

Flight KL685 was also reportedly carrying a cargo of horses and hence it was unable to land at another airport, thereby spending 11 hours in the air. The spokesperson, however, didn’t reveal the actual reason for the decision and said there were “many reasons”

“Landing at another airport was not possible, because of the visa requirements of passengers and as there was a large cargo of horses onboard,” the spokesperson said.

The flight took off from Schiphol airport at around 9:00 a.m EST and returned there at 8:00 p.m. It was thousands of feet over Canada when activities from Popocatépetl, the volcano near Mexico City, had reportedly created “unfavorable flying conditions”. The plane then had to make a five-and-a-half-hour journey back to Amsterdam.

The spokesperson added that the passengers disembarked normally and were taken care of in Amsterdam. KLM apologized and rebooked alternative flights for all passengers.

Popocatépetl is Mexico's second highest peak, located 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Mexico City. It remained active throughout this year and reportedly erupted earlier this month, spewing ash and gases into the air.

This is not the first such incident. Back in May, several flights from Ngurah Rai International Airport, Indonesia, were canceled after Mount Agung volcano erupted, spewing ashes over the southern part of Bali.