Mount Etna eruption shuts Catania airport, suspends dozens of flights

An eruption of Mount Etna on Sicily produced a dense ash plume that forced the closure of Catania‑Fontanarossa Airport. The airport operator SAC suspended all arrivals and blocked departures, initially until 10:00 local time and later extended to 14:00 and then 20:00 as the volcanic ash persisted. About 130 scheduled flights were cancelled and 50 inbound flights were diverted to Palermo, Trapani and Comiso airports. Regional authorities activated emergency transport, deploying shuttle buses from the three diversion airports and two special regional trains on the Palermo‑Messina‑Catania route to move stranded passengers. On the following day the volcanic aviation alert was lowered from red to orange, allowing the airport to resume operations and flights to depart and arrive again. Travelers were repeatedly urged to check the status of their flights with airlines before traveling to the airport.