Stiff winds blew ash from a Chilean volcano Tuesday in a widening arc across Argentina to the capital, grounding most air travel to and from the country. Since airborne ash can severely damage jet engines, Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral, the country's state-owned international and domestic airlines, cancelled all flights within Argentina as well as to ad from other countries until further notice.
At least six international carriers also suspended flights through Wednesday between Buenos Aires and cities in the United States, Europe and South America. Other carriers were expected to follow. Flights from Chile over Argentine territory also were suspended.
The capital's usually bustling international and domestic airports were nearly deserted Tuesday, and aviation regulators met to decide whether and for how long to close them. Geologists in Chile have said the Cordon Caulle volcano could keep erupting for several weeks.
The closest major city to the volcano is San Carlos de Bariloche, just over the border in Argentina, where thick abrasive soot was coating slopes in a string of resorts that depend on the winter ski season, opening in less than two weeks. The plume then stretched north-east before curving east, dumping ash over Argentina's vast ranchlands before reaching the capital.
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