New Delhi, Nov. 25 -- Air India cancelled multiple flights after initiating precautionary checks on aircraft that had flown over regions affected by the Hayli Gubbi volcanic eruption in Ethiopia, as an ash cloud from the eruption continued to disrupt flight paths across several countries, including India. The cancellations came as the ash plume spread rapidly, impacting airspace over western and northern India.

The Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia's Afar region erupted on Sunday for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending ash clouds thousands of kilometres away. Winds moving at 100-120 km/h carried the plumes over the Red Sea towards Yemen and Oman before pushing them across the Arabian Sea into Gujarat.

From there, the ash drifte...