Mount Etna eruption forces closure of Catania airport and dozens of flight cancellations

Catania airport has reopened after a volcanic eruption forced it to shut.

Travel to and from Sicily was majorly disrupted after Mount Etna erupted on Sunday evening. 

The majority of flights in and out of Catania airport were cancelled. The airport initially hoped to reopen at 8pm on Monday but remained closed until 6am on Tuesday 15 August.

Etna is Europe’s most active volcano and Italian authorities say it has entered a “pre-alert” phase, moving from warning level F0 to F1.

The chaos came a day before Italy’s biggest national holiday, Ferragosto.

If you are due to fly in or out of Catania, read on for advice from a journalist based in Sicily.

On Monday evening, airport officials announced that all flights were suspended at Catania until 6am on Tuesday due to volcanic ash fallout. 

Catania is Sicily’s second biggest airport and operates domestic and international flights.

The airport has now reopened but has advised passengers to check with their airline for information about their flight.

The eruption has now subsided but much of Catania has ash on the streets. The mayor has banned the use of motorcycles until Wednesday and banned drivers from driving over 30kph.

Catania normally handles around 200 flights a day and had to close at 2.38am on Monday following the arrival of a flight from Casablanca. The airport is around 50km south of the volcano.

Catania airport's departures and arrivals boards showed that approximately 95 per cent of flights on Monday were cancelled.

However a few flights were still arriving or being diverted to other airports in Sicily.

Sicily is the biggest island in the Mediterranean, therefore the airports are spread out. 

Catania and Comiso airports are on the island's east coast. Whereas Palermo airport,