14 August 2023 , 12:23
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Thousands of travellers have had their flights diverted or cancelled due to the eruption of Mount Etna. A huge plume of ash has burst out of the top of the Sicilian natural wonder, spreading across the eastern part of the Italian island. Europe's most active volcano caused Catania airport to close first until 1pm, and then until 8pm.
The airport was due to handle 235 flights on Monday according to aviation data experts Cirium, meaning very large numbers of passengers will be stuck on the island. Motorbikes and bicycles have been banned on the island for 48 hours due to the risk of slipping on the blanket of volcanic ash.
EasyJet flights from Gatwick, Bristol and Edinburgh have already been cancelled, while two Luton departures are being diverted to Comiso. British Airways has also cancelled services to the island and seven Ryanair flights due to land at Catania have been diverted to Trapani airport on the the far west.
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Catania Airport has been closed until at least 8pm due to the eruption (Orietta Scardino/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)In a statement the airport said: “Due to Etna’s eruptive activity and fallout of volcanic ash, flight operations are suspended until 8:00 pm.” Catania is around 50km south of the volcano and it previously had to suspend flights in May due to an eruption.
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It was temporarily closed between mid-July and early August because of fire damage. The fire led to thousands of flights being cancelled or diverted, leading many tourists to cancel their holidays to avoid being caught up in the chaos
Ryanair has issued a warning to passengers that flights could be ‘delayed, diverted or cancelled’. In a statement on its website, the airline said: “Due to the eruption of Mount Etna, we would like to advise all passengers travelling to and from Catania on Monday the 14th of August of possible delays, diversions, or cancellations to flights.
The volcano erupted on Sunday evening (Getty Images)“Affected passengers will be notified as soon as possible. We ask all passengers to monitor the Ryanair App to receive the latest travel updates for your flight.
“Ryanair understands the disruptions to passengers resulting from delays, diversions, or cancellations; the situation is unfortunately outside of our control, and we thank you for your patience."
A BA spokesperson said: "Due to the closure of Catania airport, we've had to cancel our flight due to operate today. We continue to monitor the situation and have been in contact with customers to apologise and offer options including rebooking with us or another airline, or a full refund."
Catania airport's departures and arrivals boards show that approximately 95% of flights today have been cancelled, although a few flights are still arriving or being diverted to other airports in Sicily.
Palermo airport, which is the biggest on the island, is on the west coast and a 4-5 hour drive from Catania, making the transfer to hotels difficult if flights are diverted there.
Sicily does not have a good public transport system. While there are coaches between Catania, Palermo and Trapani, these mostly operate from the city centres rather than the airports.
Comiso airport, which is around 150km from Mount Etna, was affected by the eruption too, with flights showing delays earlier this morning. It appears to be up and running now however. The chaos comes a day before Italy’s biggest national holiday, Ferragosto.
A number of flights have already been cancelled (Orietta Scardino/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)An easyJet spokesperson said: "“Due to the eruption of Mount Etna and the subsequent ash cloud close to its runway, Catania airport is currently closed. This means that, like all airlines operating into Catania, easyJet is currently unable to operate many of its scheduled flights to and from the airport today. We have rerouted some of our flights to operate into Comiso Airport today.
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“Unfortunately it is not clear when normal operations will resume however we are working closely with the airport and closely monitoring the situation. We advise all passengers who are booked to travel with easyJet to visit easyJet.com to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport.
“We are doing all possible to minimise the impact for customers. We are providing customers affected by the cancellations with their options to transfer to for free or receive a refund. We are also providing hotel accommodation and meals for those who require it. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority."