Hundreds of Flights Have Been Cancelled at the Airport in Catania, Sicily, Italy, Due to Nearly a Week of Activity From Mount Etna

The airport, which was scheduled to reopen on Wednesday evening, will now remain closed until at least Thursday afternoon due to a new ash emission. Thousands of passengers have been affected by the cancellations and diversions that have been ongoing since last weekend. Italy's Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci, a former local administrator in Catania and former president of the Sicily region, told the Ansa news agency that he had proposed moving the airport years ago but was blocked.

He said the plan faced "indifference from local authorities and a hostile attitude from the airport operator, and that the problem has become more pronounced with growing air traffic and tourism. "Cancellations, delays and serious disruptions for thousands of citizens and tourists in the middle of the summer season underline a problem Sicily has long known, he said. "Recent events show one thing: it's not the volcano that's in the wrong place, it's the airport.

Catania International Airport, near Etna, Europe's most active volcano, is Sicily's largest and Italy's fifth-busiest by passenger traffic. Following a new eruption on August 6, around 700 flights were affected between August 8-11, with most cancelled and others diverted. Other Sicilian airports have struggled to manage the extra traffic; flights from Catania are mostly being redirected to Palermo, the regional capital.

Comiso Airport, south of Catania, was also temporarily closed on Tuesday due to an ash cloud. Italian media report that passengers face additional difficulties due to soaring demand for road transport like buses and taxis for diverted flights to Palermo. Actor Filippo Lagana said in a social media post from Catania Airport that passengers were told to go to Palermo but no shuttle was provided and they were asked for 700 euros per person.

SAC, the company operating Catania Airport, announced on Wednesday that flights scheduled to resume at 18:00 local time would be suspended again until 16:00 on August 13 due to ongoing volcanic activity. Experts say it is difficult to predict how long the activity will last; reopening depends on ash levels in the atmosphere and wind direction. Salvatore Gambino, director of the Etna Observatory at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, told AdnKronos: "We've reached day seven of volcanic activity.

We're talking about an activity with considerable continuity and complexity. Gambino noted multiple points of ash and lava emission showing "no signs of decline in recent days" and said it's hard to predict how much longer it will last.