Etna's Persistent Ash Shuts Catania Airport for Fifth Day at Peak of Holiday Season
Mount Etna's relentless ash emissions have kept Catania airport closed for five days, stranding holiday travelers during Italy's peak summer week.
Sicily's largest airport, Catania, remains shut for a fifth consecutive day as Mount Etna continues to spew ash, disrupting travel for hundreds of summer holidaymakers during Italy's busiest travel week of the year.
The airport is set to stay closed until early Saturday, coinciding with the Ferragosto holiday — the height of the Italian summer season when millions traditionally head to the coast and mountains.
While Etna's activity frequently disrupts flights at the airport, located about 30 kilometers south of the volcano, this marks the longest such emergency since 2002.
"Volcanic ash can be a great risk for aircraft," said Boris Behncke, a researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology's Etna Observatory. "It can be sucked into the motors, and force them to stall. This is why everyone is so very cautious with aircraft when there is a volcanic ash emission."
Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, has shown unusual persistence in its latest activity, with sustained ash emissions. Northerly winds have carried light ash as far as Malta and northern Africa.
"There have been many shorter interruptions — and stronger eruptions — over the past few decades, but this event is different because the ash emission from Etna's summit has been much more persistent," Behncke added.
The closure has forced flight rerouting to other Sicilian airports, driving up taxi fares and car rental prices. The consumer association Codacons has said it will file a complaint with Italy's competition authority over alleged price gouging.
Airport operator SAC reported that 36% of nearly 2,000 flights scheduled to arrive in Catania from August 6-12 were canceled, with over 600 diverted to Palermo, Trapani, and Comiso in Sicily, and Lamezia Terme in Calabria. Flights departed Catania over the weekend, but the airport was officially closed to all traffic on Monday. Comiso also saw a brief closure.
To ease travel pressure, Trenitalia has added six trains along the Palermo-Messina-Catania route.