ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A giant plume of volcanic ash clouding Alaskan skies left at least 5,000 travelers stranded, an airline said Monday.
The ash caused Alaska Airlines to cancel 44 flights into and out of Alaska, The Anchorage Daily News reported.
A passenger in Seattle Sunday said an airline representative told those bound for Alaska that the "entire state is unflyable." The airline Monday added flights to accommodate the stranded passengers, said Caroline Boren, Alaska Airlines spokeswoman.
Alaska Airlines stopped flights Sunday after the National Weather Service issued an ash warning for an area in Southeast Alaska near the Panhandle, Boren said.
"If there's an ash plume in the way, we won't fly," she said.
Continental, Delta and United airlines had also canceled some flights, Boren said.
