Mount Etna Eruption Grounds Flights at Sicily's Catania Airport
(MENAFN) Catania Airport in Sicily suspended all incoming flights Saturday after Mount Etna erupted anew, sending an ash plume roughly 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) into the sky, according to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
The eruption triggered a red aviation warning and forced the closure of airspace sector C1, prompting the airport to restrict both landings and takeoffs.
Catania Airport said all incoming flights would remain suspended until 4 pm local time on Sept. 26 because of volcanic ash drifting from Mount Etna.
Prior to the full suspension, the airport had already scaled back operations to four landings per hour, down from its normal capacity of 12.
At least 10 flights operated by ITA Airways were diverted before the shutdown took full effect — five to Palermo, three to Trapani and two to Comiso. A Volotea flight was also rerouted to Comiso.
The airport's Operational Coordination Unit went on to close sector C1 entirely, imposing a zero-landing, zero-takeoff restriction.
The ash plume stemmed from renewed activity at Mount Etna's northeast crater, INGV said.
The eruption triggered a red aviation warning and forced the closure of airspace sector C1, prompting the airport to restrict both landings and takeoffs.
Catania Airport said all incoming flights would remain suspended until 4 pm local time on Sept. 26 because of volcanic ash drifting from Mount Etna.
Prior to the full suspension, the airport had already scaled back operations to four landings per hour, down from its normal capacity of 12.
At least 10 flights operated by ITA Airways were diverted before the shutdown took full effect — five to Palermo, three to Trapani and two to Comiso. A Volotea flight was also rerouted to Comiso.
The airport's Operational Coordination Unit went on to close sector C1 entirely, imposing a zero-landing, zero-takeoff restriction.
The ash plume stemmed from renewed activity at Mount Etna's northeast crater, INGV said.
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