An erupting volcano in the kingdom of Tonga sent a plume of steam and gas 6 kilometres into the sky Tuesday, causing Air New Zealand to cancel flights to the South Pacific archipelago, according to dpa. The airline said it cancelled a return flight to the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa on Tuesday and a flight on Monday had been diverted to Samoa and then returned to Auckland. The Wellington Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre put out a notice alerting airlines to a dark volcanic ash cloud over the Tongan capital.
