Etna ash grounds flights at Catania airport in Sicily

Flights at Catania International Airport in Sicily were suspended on Tuesday after volcanic ash from Mount Etna affected operations. The airport said arrivals and departures would remain halted until 22:00 local time, or 20:00 GMT. It is the second time in recent months that the airport has stopped flights because of activity from the volcano.

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Airport officials said the disruption began on Monday, when ongoing activity at Etna prompted the INGV Etneo Observatory to issue a red aviation alert. In a statement on Tuesday, the airport said further updates would follow and advised passengers due to travel from Catania to check with their airline before going to the airport. Catania is Italy's fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic and usually handles about 12 million passengers a year.

The closure has affected both arrivals and departures at one of the country's busiest transport hubs. The airport was also closed for almost a week during the peak summer season last month because of volcanic activity, underlining how repeated ash emissions can quickly disrupt air travel in eastern Sicily. Mount Etna, which stands about 3,324 metres high and lies roughly 40 kilometres from the airport, is Europe's tallest active volcano and erupts frequently.

The latest suspension matters because Catania airport is a major gateway for Sicily and a key link for domestic and international travel. Repeated closures can affect tourism, business travel and local transport planning, especially during busy travel periods. The situation also highlights the challenge of operating an airport so close to an active volcano that can force sudden changes in aviation safety conditions.

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There have been calls for the airport to shut and for other facilities in Sicily to be expanded because of its proximity to Etna. The volcano attracts large numbers of visitors, with about 1.5 million people visiting each year, even as eruptions continue to create disruption. The recent ash-related shutdown follows a period of heightened activity that has already drawn attention to the balance between tourism, safety and transport reliability in the area.

What remains unclear is how long the disruption will last beyond the airport's stated deadline and whether further ash emissions will force additional suspensions. Passengers have been told to monitor airline advice, and the airport has said it will issue further updates. The next development to watch is whether Etna's activity eases enough to allow normal operations to resume or whether the red aviation alert remains in place.

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