Catania, the airport reopened after the stop for Etna: operational airport

The stop to flights at Catania airport lasted just over half an hour, which was already fully operational again in the late morning.

As announced by SAC, the company that manages the airport, following the transition of the flight alert status from red to orange, arrivals and departures are restored with immediate effect. Passengers are asked to check the status of their flight with the airlines before going to the airport. The flights had been blocked due to the recovery of energy from the emission of volcanic ash from the north-east crater of Etna which produced an eruptive cloud 4 kilometers high.

However, the brief closure caused inconvenience to passengers

The decision to immediately restore flight activities, both departing and arriving, was adopted by the Operational Coordination Unit (NCO), the coordination body that manages the flow of flights and the safety of the airspace in emergency situations, after the lowering of the aviation alert, the Vona (Volcano observatory notice for aviation), which dropped from red to orange. In the latest Vona on the activity of Etna, issued by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Catania, a "weak emission of volcanic ash" from the North-East crater is reported which produces a "cloud of diluted ash".

The closure of the Vincenzo Bellini international airport in Catania, although brief, caused inconvenience to passengers. Two flights arriving from Rome Fiumicino, one by Ita and the other by Ryanair, were canceled and 12 others diverted: 10 to Palermo and one each to Comiso (Rgausa) and Trapani. The non-arrival of the aircraft also caused inconveniences in departures with 12 flights canceled and two operated in Palermo: Volotea to Olbia and Lufthansa to Munich. Delays in landings and take-offs are inevitable. SAC invites passengers to "check the status of their flight with the airlines before going to the airport".