Mexican officials reopened the airport in the central city of Puebla Friday after it was closed for a second time this week due to ash on the runways from the nearby Popocatepetl volcano.
“We've checked the situation and decided that the current conditions can guarantee the safety of passengers,” said Jesus Morales, director of civil protection services for the state of Puebla, a day after the airport was shut.
Sixteen flights were suspended Thursday and US carrier United cancelled one flight to Houston early Friday.
Since the towering volcano in central Mexico came to life at the start of April it has spewed gas and glowing rock as much as one mile (1.6 kilometers) from its crater and intermittently belched out water vapor and ash.
Officials also shut Puebla airport earlier in the week for 14 hours to allow for cleaning up volcanic ash and rock.
Operations at Mexico City's busy international airport have not been affected by the volcano.
Popocatepetl, Mexico's second highest peak, means “smoking mountain” in the indigenous Nahuatl language.
After moderate activity during most of the 20th Century, the towering mountain registered more intense rumblings from 1994, with the strongest in December 2000 when nearby communities were evacuated.
- Sapa-AFP/IOL
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