Etna eruption forces closure of Sicily's Catania airport
by AFP Staff Writers
Rome (AFP) July 23, 2024

The airport at Catania in Sicily, a top Italian tourist destination, Tuesday suspended all flights as ash from an eruption at nearby Mount Etna entered the airspace.

Millions of passengers pass through Catania International Airport every year, serving the eastern part of Sicily.

"Due to eruptions and ash emissions, it has been decided to suspend flight operations," the airport operator wrote on X, inviting passengers to contact their airline for flight information.

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

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.

Most recently, Catania airport was closed on July 5 due to an eruption.

The first message came early this morning from the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology reporting the ash column at an altitude of eight kilometres (five miles).

A second message was issued two hours later, assuring that the ash emissions were now limited to the summit of the volcano.

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