Etna, flights to and from Catania resume. Airport back to normal
The president of SAC Anna Quattrone, after the restoration of flight activities, declared that "we still have to consider a few hours for a return to normality". In recent hours the management company of Catania airport had announced the reopening of the C1 and B3 sectors of the airport
SAC, the management company of Catania airport, communicates that, "following the transition of the alert status for volcanic activities from red to orange, the reopening of sectors C1 and B3 of the airport has been ordered". Flight activities departing and arriving at Catania airport have been restored starting from 2pm. INGV to SkyTG24: "There is no more ash in the skies of Catania".
Etna blocks Catania airport, is it really inevitable?
There seems to be no end to the volcanic activity of Etna which blocks flights from Catania-Fontanarossa airport, creating inconvenience for tourists who have chosen to spend their summer holidays in Sicily. Volcanic ash, in fact, represents one of the most serious natural dangers for a jet plane: it is composed of tiny fragments of rock, minerals and volcanic glass, so small that they can be sucked in by the engines and hard enough to damage an aircraft that passes through them at hundreds of kilometers per hour. The history of aviation demonstrates the risk with several cases where disaster was narrowly averted, including scheduled flights in which all engines shut down at the same time.
Etna erupts, Catania airport stops: canceled flights, hijackings and thousands of passengers dealing with delays and inconveniences. A script that repeats itself cyclically and that reopens a question: can a solution really be found to a problem that is destined to return? In this episode of Sky Cube Chiara Martinoli talks about it with Stefano Arcifa, president of the Aero Club of Italy and Stefano Branca, Director of the INGV Volcanoes Department
Earthquake on Etna, magnitude 3.9 shock in Linguaglossa: damage and restaurants evacuated
An earthquake of magnitude 3.9 was felt at the end of the morning in the Catania area, with an epicenter 7 kilometers from Linguaglossa. The road to Piano Provenzana was damaged and restaurants in the area were evacuated as a precaution. According to the head of the Sicilian Civil Protection Salvo Cocina, the earthquake is linked to the opening of the Pernicana fault, linked to the volcanic activity of Etna
It is not clear when volcanic activity will stop: for the director of the Volcanoes department of the INGV Osservatorio Etneo, Stefano Branca, "it is absolutely impossible to predict".
Move Catania airport? What is true and what are the alternatives on the table
Six days of ash from Etna, over 700 missed flights and damage estimated at at least 24 million for tourism have rekindled an ancient question: is Catania airport, the fifth largest airport in Italy for passengers and at the foot of the largest active volcano in Europe, in the right place? The minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci relaunched the reflection, according to which "the one who is out of place is not the volcano but the airport". The minister does not indicate a solution - "I don't have the authority to determine it" - but invites us to think about the island's airport system for the next twenty-thirty years. From the delocalisation hypothesis of the 1990s to the already financed on-site expansion, up to the never formalized proposals: here are the options actually in place, with advantages and limitations.
Blocked by Etna between Milan and Syracuse: my Odyssey in search of a flight
Four days to reach the family in Syracuse and leave again, with Catania Fontanarossa airport opening and closing to the rhythm of Etna's ash emissions. A flight diverted to Palermo, the chaotic landing at Punta Raisi, 240 kilometers by bus and finally the canceled flight. The first-person story of a return that, as I write, is not yet finished
Sac: "Return to regular activity of the airport in a few hours"
"The restoration of flight operations at Catania airport represents an important step towards returning to normality after particularly complex days for our city". Nico Torrisi, CEO of Sac, the management company of the Catania and Comiso airports, says this. "I want to thank all the institutions and actors who collaborated in the management of the emergency, with particular thanks to the Sicilian Region, and to the president Schifani, to the Metropolitan City of Catania, and the mayor Trantino, and to the City of Comiso, and the mayor Schembari, for the support and loyal collaboration ensured throughout the emergency. A heartfelt thanks also goes to the Civil Protection, to Enac, to Enav and to all the other Sicilian airports, primarily Comiso, the whose contribution was fundamental and, above all, to all the Sac staff, starting from the president Anna Quattrone, who with professionalism, availability and sense of responsibility guaranteed an extraordinary commitment for the entire duration of the emergency". "It was teamwork that allowed us to manage a complex situation which was among the most severe in terms of impact and duration for our airport. - he concludes - Now we continue our work to accompany the system towards full regularity in the shortest possible time and reduce the inconvenience for travelers to a minimum".
Sac President: "We have maximum commitment and thanks to the Sicilian airports"
"There is a protocol because clearly, as someone unfortunately said, the volcano has been here before us, so it is clear that no one has the presumption to say that we did everything in the best possible way, but I can assure you that there was the utmost commitment and maximum work on the part of all our operators". This was said by the president of SAC, Anna Quattrone, speaking to journalists at the airport in Catania after the restoration of flight activities following the passage of the state of alert for volcanic activities. "A heartfelt thank you to Comiso airport - he added - which we always manage, where the operators worked 24 hours a day. It is also a heartfelt thank you to the airports of Trapani and Palermo who supported us in a truly excellent way". "Community legislation - Quattrone recalled - provides that it is the airlines that 're-protect' or in any case support and support the passengers and therefore not the Sac, both in terms of information and refreshments. This in some cases did not happen and, to be honest, in other cases it did happen, and consequently, as we were the first subjects that the passengers met, they at least asked us for the information that we ourselves often did not have and that we were not able to give". "On the basis of this - he highlighted - we have made up for it with our Sac service staff who I thank for the commendable work done and in addition we also have 'facilitators' who are those people you see around the airport with bibs with the words 'ask me' written on them who gave the necessary information". "There were around 1900 flights that were supposed to fly to Catania in these days of emergency - specified the president of Sac - which were re-booked, around 630, and 36% cancelled. It is clear that the situation was complex to manage and the period is hot in every sense". "In fact, I remember - concluded Quattrone - that this is the first week of holidays for many passengers and therefore the period did not help and the situation was very complex and impactful as it had not happened for several years and therefore the combination of these elements caused quite a few inconveniences for passengers".
Sac President: "It will take a few hours for the airport to return to normality"
"From 2pm we had the OK from the competent authorities to resume flight activities. This is clearly good news, aware of the fact that obviously Etna, at any moment, or even worse winds, could lead to a closure but we are optimistic because we think that this 'ok' from the competent authorities, always absolutely attentive to giving absolute priority to the safety of passengers and airline staff, means that we are in a position to restart". The president of SAC, Anna Quattrone, said this, speaking to journalists at the airport in Catania, after the restoration of flight activities following the passage of the state of alert for volcanic activities. "For a return to normality - he added - we still have to consider a few hours. Our 'apron' is empty, we have to wait, once the possibilities to land have been restored, for the aircraft to come to Catania and then leave for their destinations".
Ingv: "Effusive activity continues, weak ash emission"
Etna's effusive activity continues from the vents at an altitude of 2750 meters and 1990 metres. This was communicated by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Etna Observatory, after field surveys carried out. The most advanced front of the lava flows stands at an altitude of approximately 1600 metres, near Rocca Musarra, overlapping the previous flows. This morning, at 8.40, a short-lived explosion occurred at the North-East crater which generated a column of ash, which dispersed towards the South. At the moment, only a weak emission of ash confined to the summit area continues. From a seismic point of view, at approximately 8.20 am, the average amplitude of the volcanic tremor showed a very rapid transient increase, reaching average values and recording the maximum peak at twenty minutes later and then stabilizing at low values. The return of the observed deformation is confirmed.
