Popocatepeti volcano grounds Mexican flights

Ash spews from Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano in the Mexican central state of Puebla.

MEXICO'S Popocatepeti volcano is erupting - pumping thousands of tonnes of ash into the atmosphere and causing airlines to abandon flights to the country.

The volcano, in the central state of Puebla and some 40km from Mexico City, began spewing ash, steam and red-hot rocks yesterday.

At least six US airlines have cancelled more than 40 flights to Mexico due to the threat of the fine, glassy ash poses to aircraft engines.

Mexico City airport spokesman Jorge Gomez said U.S. Airways, Delta, United, American and Alaska Airlines canceled 47 flights as a precaution. But he said the airport otherwise continues to operate normally and that by Thursday afternoon no ash had reached the area, about 70 kilometers from the volcano.

Authorities registered several tremors yesterday at the 5,450-meter volcano, which has been spraying a fountain of hot rock and ash for the last 24 hours.

An iconic backdrop to Mexico City's skyline on clear days, Popocatepetl sits roughly halfway between Mexico City and the city of Puebla.

Four U.S. airlines temporarily suspended flights to and from Mexico City on Thursday after a volcano 50 miles from the capital spewed ash, a spokesman for the city's international airport said. Three to eight flights on American Airlines, U.S. Airways, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group have been postponed so far, Richard Jimenez, a representative for Mexico City's international airport told Reuters. 

"The decision not to fly from Mexico City has been made by these airlines, but the airport is in operable conditions," Andres Gomez, another airport representative, said on local television. 

No Mexican airlines have halted operations, Gomez said. 

Mexico's leading airline AeroMexico suspended flights briefly Thursday morning, but resumed operations less than an hour later. The volcano Popocatepetl in the central state of Puebla has been more active this year, prompting officials to raise warning levels but have so far ordered no evacuations. Officials have kept the volcano's risk level on hold at "yellow," the second highest on the four-color spectrum, indicating that there is more activity than usual but no threat of eruption, national emergency services coordinator Luis Felipe said on Twitter. 

On Thursday, ash fell on communities adjacent to the volcano, nicknamed Don Goyo, and reached southern neighborhoods of Mexico City. There is no evidence of volcanic ash in the airport's immediate vicinity, it announced through its Twitter account. Volcanic ash can damage jet engines. 

Mexico City's airport serves more than 29 million people a year and oversaw 174,511 takeoffs and landings between January and June.