TORONTO - Volcanic ash from a massive plume hovering over Europe may be heading all the way to Newfoundland and that has caused many flights out of St. John's to be cancelled for Monday morning.
That means musicians and other revellers in St. John's for the Juno Awards over the weekend could have a difficult time leaving the Rock after a night of celebrating Canadian music.
An erupting volcano in Iceland has been sending a massive cloud of ash into the sky for days, forcing the closure of airspace over much of Europe.
Transport Canada and Nav Canada have advised the St. John's International Airport that there is a chance the ash spewing from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano will reach St. John's airspace Monday morning, said a spokeswoman for the airport.
"We do have a number of flights that have been cancelled Monday morning for precautionary reasons," said Marie Manning, the airport's director of marketing and community relations.
"What we understand is about a 30 per cent chance that the volcanic ash will hit us."
It looked as though travel surrounding the Juno Awards would be hampered both before and after the celebrations, as thick fog prevented some musical acts on Saturday from attending the Juno Fan Fare -- a showcase for bands nominated for new group of the year.
On Sunday night singer Michael Buble cut short his celebration after winning album and single of the year saying he was worried about the possible effect of the volcanic ash cloud.
"I spoke to my pilot...just now, who told me that the ash cloud would be coming to St. John's by 3 a.m. and that it could be three days before anybody leaves here," Buble said.
Transport Canada would make the decision to shut down the airspace, if necessary, and they would advise Nav Canada, who would then issue a "notice to airmen," advising pilots of the closure, said Nav Canada spokeswoman Michelle Bishop.
Air Canada, WestJet and Porter Airlines have cancelled flights Monday out of St. John's up to 9 a.m., Manning said.
Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah said the airline has also cancelled Monday morning flights to and from Gander and Deer Lake.
"The volcanic ash is spreading westward and we are expecting it to affect our flight operations to and from three Canadian airports in Newfoundland and Labrador," she said.
Mah said Air Canada would keep an eye on the situation throughout the night and Monday morning for flights after 9 a.m. and she advised passengers to check the airline's website for the most up-to-date information.
"We will continue to evaluate for the rest of the day which flights we will be able to operate but we do expect there will be some delays and cancellations," she said.
