Sicilian city of Catania were halted after an eruption from nearby Mount Etna, local authorities said, bringing fresh travel troubles to the crisis-plagued Italian airport.
The 3,330 metre high volcano burst into action overnight on Sunday, firing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island. The lava flow subsided before dawn, but ash was still coming from one of the craters.
Flights to and from Catania, a popular tourist destination, were set to remain suspended until 6am on Tuesday morning, the airport operator said in a statement, dashing hopes they could resume on Monday night.
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.
No flights will go in or out of Catania, a popular tourist destination, until 8pm (6pm, UK time), the airport said on X, formerly known as Twitter, and earlier on Monday, the airport itself was temporarily closed.
Several British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet and KLM flights have been cancelled, delayed, or diverted to other airports on the island.
Catania International Airport said: "Due to Etna's eruptive activity and fallout of volcanic ash, flight operations are suspended until 8pm."
Catania, which has now been cancelled. 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.”
The easyJet spokesperson said: “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..“
In 2010 the eruption of an Icelandic volcano brought aviation in northern Europe to a halt for almost a week.
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