Mount Etna eruption suspends flights at Sicily’s Catania Airport

Catania Airport in Sicily suspended incoming flights on Saturday after renewed activity at Mount Etna sent an ash plume about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) into the atmosphere, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.

The eruption triggered a red aviation warning and the closure of airspace sector C1, forcing the airport to impose restrictions on both landings and takeoffs, foreign media reports.

Catania Airport said arrivals were suspended until 4 p.m. local time on September 26 because of volcanic ash from Etna. Italian reports said the airport’s operational coordination unit subsequently introduced a zero-landing and zero-takeoff restriction.

Before the full suspension was imposed, the airport had cut its operating capacity to four landings per hour, compared with the normal rate of 12.

At least 10 ITA Airways flights were diverted as the restrictions tightened, with five redirected to Palermo, three to Trapani and two to Comiso. A Volotea flight was also rerouted to Comiso.

The ash plume was produced by renewed eruptive activity at Mount Etna’s northeast crater. The volcano has repeatedly disrupted air traffic at Catania this year, with ash emissions prompting temporary flight restrictions during earlier episodes as well.

By Tamilla Hasanova