Volcanic ash has rained down on the runway of an airport in central Mexico, forcing it to close for several hours and disrupting domestic flights and those to the US.

The Popocatepetl volcano began rumbling and exploding late on Tuesday, spewing a four-kilometre high column of ash and ejecting white hot rock as far as 700 metres from its crater, according to the National Disaster Prevention Center.

The ash reached the city of Puebla and seven nearby towns, and the wind could blow it over the eastern state of Veracruz and Tabasco state in the south, the centre said.

The airport in Puebla shut down for five hours on Wednesday as crews cleaned up the dusty tarmac, said state civil protection chief Jesus Morales.

The temporary closure of the small Hermanos Serdan airport affected 120 passengers whose flights to Houston, Texas, and the Mexican cities of Monterrey and Guadalajara resumed after delays.

The Mexican capital is only 55 kilometres from the snow-capped volcano, which regularly exhales massive ash clouds.

The Colima volcano in the west of the country has also been sending ash skywards in recent weeks.