Update: Pavlof Volcano Eruption Halts Alaskan Air Travel

A low-level eruption at Alaska's Pavlof volcano earlier this week prompted a regional airline to cancel flights on Wednesday due to the towering plumes of ash and smoke billowing high into the sky.

Regional airline PenAir began canceling flights late on Tuesday from Anchorage to a pair of Aleutian Island destinations, as well as to Cold Bay and Dutch Harbor, because of a mix of high winds and volcanic ash from Pavlof, PenAir spokeswoman Missy Roberts said, according to Reuters.

Even as the Alaska Volcano Observatory was downgrading the red alert level, cancellations persisted Wednesday as the airline continued monitoring Pavlof's activity. PenAir serves many communities that are off the state's road system and is accustomed to extreme year-round weather conditions.

It's possible that PenAir officials were overly cautious. Jetliners flying between North America and Asia routinely pass over Pavlof, but those planes generally fly at elevations of 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) and likely would be unaffected by ash at lower elevations, observatory scientists have said. But, better safe than sorry, as volcanic ash can harm jet engines, and even cause them to shut down mid-flight, according to Mashable.

Pavlof Volcano - one of Alaska's most active volcanoes, erupting for the third time this century - is located in an uninhabited region nearly 600 miles (966 km) southwest of Anchorage.

It sent an ash plume 22,000 feet in the air on Monday, which then drifted about 50 miles east. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) issued a red aviation level alert - the highest level. By Tuesday, the smoke had lowered to 20,000 feet, prompting AVO officials to reduce the warning to "Orange," indicating an increased potential for eruption or that an eruption is underway but poses limited hazards, the observatory's website reports.

"The eruptive activity continues pretty strong," geologist Game McGimsey said, Reuters reported. "There is lava fountaining going on. It's very visible at night time from web cams."

So far no ash has reached any communities, he added, and the volcano remains under close watch.