The airport of Catania, in Sicily, one of Italy’s top tourist destinations, has suspended all flights after another eruption of Mount Etna, the company that manages the airport said on Monday.
“Due to an eruption on Mount Etna, all departures and arrivals until 1 p.m. have been cancelled [12:00 em Lisboa]”, reads the message that the airport management company Sac has published on social networks.
https://t.co/79faM8P6Vk
– Catania Airport (@CTAairport) August 14, 2023
Sac also asked passengers to contact the airline they should be flying on for more information.
Mount Etna in Italy, Europe’s most active volcano, lights up the night sky with eruptions pic.twitter.com/OVi0PlFeTE
– Reuters (@Reuters) August 14, 2023
Wow #Etna really going for it now
Astonishing
Live stream – https://t.co/fZtkt7IhOD pic.twitter.com/l6QAbLfAGU
– Volcano (@volkaholic1) August 13, 2023
It should be noted that the airport of Catania, located about 60 kilometers south of the volcano, was closed for a day on May 21 due to an eruption of Mount Etna.
Wow, the new eruption that just started at #Etna it’s absolutely incredible. Clipped from the livestream below: https://t.co/ndErGAJjY7 pic.twitter.com/J18qPuov1v
– Alex Spahn ️☄️ (@spahn711) August 14, 2023
The Etna volcano, the most active in Europe, erupted this morning, throwing an ash plume over the city of Catania, which was dispersed by southerly winds.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) confirmed the activity, which “turned into a lava fountain” flowing south from the volcano’s crater at an altitude of 2,800 meters.
The closure of the airport coincides with the traditional start of the holiday season, August 15, a date popularly known in Italy as “Ferragosto”. The island of Sicily is one of the favorite summer destinations for both Italians and foreigners.
Etna “has a very long eruptive history of more than half a million years, but it is only in the last 100,000 years that the volcano has taken on the conical shape that characterizes it today,” according to the INGV website.
According to historical records, one of the most serious eruptions on Mount Etna, located at 3,324 meters above sea level, occurred in 1669 and caused about 20,000 deaths.
In 2022, about 10 million passengers passed through Vincenzo Bellini International Airport, which serves the eastern part of Sicily, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy.
News updated at 09:44
Source: DN
