Right before the biggest bank holiday in Italy, flights were delayed, diverted or canceled due to the eruption of Mount Etna.
The airport stated that flights going to and coming from Sicily are going to be widely disrupted, on account of the ash cloud that resulted from the eruption.
A large number of people were stranded at the Catania airport due to flights being canceled all of a sudden.
Etna is the most active volcano in Europe and according to the authorities in Italy, it is now in the pre-alert phase. Consequently, the warnings have gone from level F0 to F1 in a matter of days.
The chaos of the volcano comes just before the country shuts down for a day, on account of Ferragosto, which happens to be its biggest national holiday.
Chaos at Catania airport
Various airport officials showed up after a large number of cancellations to inform people that they would not be able to travel due to a suspension of flights.
Catania, being the second biggest airport in Sicily, usually facilitates numerous international and domestic flights, but will not be operational for a day, at least.
The airport also took to X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, to inform people that the volcano’s eruptive activity and volcanic ash had led them to believe that it was not safe for airplanes at the moment.
It further suggested that passengers continue to check with their relevant airlines for further information regarding the resumption of flights.
On a daily basis, Catania handles no less than 200 flights per day but had to shut down operations after a flight from Casablanca landed in Sicily.
It further does not help matters that the airport is located just 50kms away from Mount Etna.
Diverted flights from Catania
Despite 95% of the flights arriving in and departing from Sicily being canceled, there are some that have been diverted to other airports within the city.
Given that the city is the largest island situated in the Mediterranean, it has a number of airports throughout. Both Comiso and Catania are located on the east coast of the island.
Meanwhile, Palermo Airport, which is the biggest in Sicily, is located on the west coast. It is around a 4 to 5-hour drive away from Catania.
A couple of flights that were diverted landed at Trapani airport, which is also located 4 hours away from Catania.
Airlines warn people of delays and cancelations
In the midst of this chaos, airlines have also taken to warn their passengers that they could face possible diversions, cancelations, or delays in flights.
As per Ryanair, the budget airline, affected passengers will receive a notification regarding their flights at the earliest.
Currently, EasyJet is the primary airline which were flying in from the UK and landing flights at Catania.
However, all these scheduled flights have been canceled in light of the eruption, especially those going from Catania to Gatwick, Edinburgh, and Bristol.
