An airport in Sicily was forced to temporarily shut down again today after volcanic ash was spewed out of Mount Etna.
‘Arrivals and departures at Catania Airport are suspended,’ the airport said in a statement on its website.
All flights at the airport will be suspended until 10pm local time (9pm UK time) on Monday.
Catania Airport is Sicily’s main gateway and Italy’s fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic. Airlines operating flights between Catania and the UK include British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air.
The recent eruption has prompted experts at the Etna Volcano Observatory to issue a red VONA (Volcano Observatory Notice to Aviation) alert for the ash cloud, which drifted towards the airport.
The airport, that usually services around 12 million passengers a year, was also closed for a week in August during the peak summer season.
Mount Etna is Europe’s highest and most active volcano at 3,324 metres (nearly 11,000 feet), which has caused numerous disruptions to flights.
But ash emissions have been more frequent this summer, causing flight disruption to thousands of travellers and locals.
A drone view shows volcanic ash and fumes over the skyline during an eruption at Mount Etna on Monday
This has sparked growing calls in Italy for Catania airport to be closed and for other hubs in Sicily to be expanded because of the proximity to Etna, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.
SAC said 36 per cent of flights bound for Catania were cancelled between August 6 and August 12. More than 600 flights were diverted to nearby airports including Palermo, Trapani, Comiso and Lamezia Terme.
The eruption in August drew crowds of visitors to Mount Etna where spectacular lava flows could be observed close up.
But, as a result, Sicily’s primary airport was forced to shut for five consecutive days – leaving thousands of tourists, including Brits, stranded.
It was the longest period the airport has had to close since 2002.
Catania Airport said on Monday: ‘Due to Mount Etna’s eruptive activity, the airspace corresponding to sectors C1 and B3 has been closed.
‘Arrivals and departures at Catania Airport are suspended until 10pm local time.
‘Passengers are kindly requested to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport. Further updates will follow in the coming hours.’
You must be logged in to post a comment Login