Thousands of passengers faced cancellations and delays at Sicily’s busiest airport on Friday due to the latest eruption of Mount Etna.
Spews of ash and lava reached 4.5km high, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), causing the closure of Catania airport on Friday morning.
The airport announced that arrival and departure flights would be suspended with more than 80 services affected by lunchtime on Friday.
Here’s what travellers with imminent bookings to Sicily need to know.
How are flights being affected?
Catania airport announced early on Friday morning that arrival and departure flights would be suspended after the runway became unusable as a result of volcanic ash fall.
Due to the ash clouds, INGV has issued a red code warning – its highest alert – for planes passing through the region.
Passengers have faced delays and flight cancellations. By Friday morning, at least 54 departing flights were cancelled due to the eruptions and subsequent closure of Catania airport, representing 40 per cent of all scheduled departures, and at least 30 arrivals were cancelled, excluding diversions, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Ryanair has seen the highest number of cancellations to and from the airport, followed by easyJet and ITA Airways. Eight outbound flights were scheduled from the UK to Catania on Friday.
An update from the airport on X, formerly Twitter, advised that passengers should check flight statuses ahead of travel to the terminal. At the time of writing, the airport had reopened for departures, although arrivals remained limited.
How do I check whether my flight is affected?
Those due to travel to or from Catania airport can monitor their flight’s status through the official airport website, aeroporto.catania.it. Travellers can also check directly with their airline via its online flight checker service, mobile app or customer service team. Flight tracking websites, such as Flightradar24, Plane Finder and FlightAware, are another useful tool.
Travellers should also keep abreast of any advice from their airline, tour operator or accommodation provider.
An update from easyJet that was sent to affected passengers read: “We’re sorry that your flight has been cancelled. This is because volcanic activity in CTA [Catania] is causing restrictions to the areas in which aircraft are permitted to fly.”
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?
Under air passenger consumer laws, travellers whose flight is cancelled have a right to a refund or to be rebooked onto another flight to their destination.
Compensation is unlikely when the cancellation is due to a circumstance beyond the airline’s control, however.
You should contact your airline in the first instance for details of your options.
Many passengers who have experienced cancellations due to the disruption have been put onto diverted flights, mostly to Palermo, Sicily’s capital.
Is it safe to travel to Sicily?
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) advice page for Italy has been updated to include the following warning: “Due to volcanic activity, local authorities have increased the alert levels for both Etna and Stromboli in the south of Italy. In the event of a volcanic eruption, follow the advice of local authorities. See more information on volcanoes.
“Arrivals and departures into Catania airport are suspended with flights cancelled or re-routed to Palermo or Comiso.
“If you are travelling to or from Catania, check with your travel provider or with Catania airport.”
Italy’s Civil Protection Department said: “Italy, together with Iceland, has the greatest concentration of active volcanoes in Europe and is one of the first in the world for the number of inhabitants exposed to volcanic risk.
“Active or potentially active volcanoes are situated in southern Italy with varying degrees of hazard.”
It has reminded travellers and residents to “follow the civil protection authorities’ instructions transmitted by radio, TV, in the daily press, on the internet and by the various toll-free numbers that will be set up”.
The department added: “During eruptions, it is also important to heed the forbidden to enter signs at the areas involved by the eruption. It is dangerous to approach the crater area even if there is no eruptive activity as sudden explosive phenomena or gas emissions are always possible.”
Travellers who are in Sicily, or who are due to travel to the island in the coming days, should continue to monitor the situation, including by consulting advice from Italy’s Civil Protection Department.
