Volcanic ash from Etna forces temporary halt to inbound flights at Catania
A fresh eruption of Mount Etna on August 8 released ash that led Catania Airport to suspend all arriving flights until noon, while departures continued as normal.
Mount Etna, one of Europe’s most active volcanoes, erupted on August 8, producing a dense ash cloud that prompted aviation authorities to close the airspace over the volcano’s cloud sector, known as Sector C1. Catania Airport issued a statement confirming that all arriving flights would be suspended until 12 p.m. local time, although aircraft already at the airport could still take off. The ash plume was observable via a webcam on the National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology’s website.
Etna rises to 3,324 m and has a long history of frequent eruptions over the past half-million years. Catania International Airport, which handled roughly 12 million passengers in 2024, is a key gateway to the popular tourist region of eastern Sicily.
Why it matters
Ash from Etna disrupts air travel, affecting tourists and local economies reliant on the airport.
In this story