Sicily’s Catania airport reopens after Etna eruption

INQUIRER.net stock images

Rome, Italy — The airport at Catania in Sicily, a top Italian tourist destination, reopened late Tuesday afternoon after suspending all flights when an eruption at nearby Mount Etna spewed volcanic ash.

Millions of passengers pass every year through Catania International Airport, which serves the eastern part of Sicily with tourist sites such as Syracuse and Taormina.

“Due to the decrease in volcanic activity, flight operations will resume,” the airport operator wrote on X.

READ: Mount Etna eruption closes Sicily’s troubled Catania airport

Departures resumed from 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), while four arrivals per hour would be allowed from 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), it said.

All flights would resume from 10pm (2000 GMT), it added.

The airport had suspended all flights earlier Tuesday “due to eruptions and ash emissions”.

That message was posted with a warning image of Mount Etna with the text “high intensity” and “volcanic activity in progress” overlayed.

The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the ash column had reached an altitude of eight kilometers (five miles).

At 3,324 metres (nearly 11,000 feet), Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe and has erupted frequently in the past 500,000 years.

Catania airport was last closed on July 5 due to an eruption.