Mount Etna Eruption Forces Flight Cancellations at Catania Airport

Arrivals at Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), Sicily’s busiest aviation hub, are being canceled today after the airport was forced to suspend incoming flights due to ongoing volcanic activity from nearby Mount Etna.

Arrivals have been halted until at least 4:00 p.m. local time on Monday after volcanic ash plumes around Etna forced air traffic control authorities to close local airspace. Departing flights, while allowed to take off, are also being delayed or adjusted depending on ash clearing and ground cleanup.

According to FlightAware, more than a quarter of all outbound flights have been cancelled on Monday. 

The airport is telling all travelers and travel advisors with clients flying into or out of Catania today to check directly with their respective airlines before heading to the airport.

CTA handles over 10 to 12 million passengers annually, making it the busiest airport in Sicily and the primary gateway for Southern Italy. It’s not unusual for Etna to disrupt flights at CTA. The volcano is active year round, but typically sees the most activity in the summer. When the ash is at its worst, arrivals are routinely diverted to Palermo Airport (PMO) or Comiso Airport (CIY), forcing airlines to transport passengers across Sicily via bus.