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'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.
Flights departing and arriving at Catania airport resume from 2pm (local time). The airport's management company, Sac, has ordered the reopening of sectors C1 and B3 after the downgrading of Etna's volcanic alert from 'Red' to 'Orange' level. However, the company invites passengers to check the status of their flight with the airlines before going to the airport.
After a short break, Etna has returned to showing signs of intense activity. On the summit craters, strong explosive activity was recorded which apparently moved from the Voragine crater to the North-East crater, accompanied by the emission of a high eruptive cloud pushed by the wind towards the South-South-East. This is revealed by the new warning for aviation (Vona, Volcano observatory notice for aviation) released by the INGV of Catania, which has raised the alert level to the maximum, taking it from orange to red. The volcanic tremor, the indicator of the volcano's internal energy, which in the previous hours had dropped to low values, also increased sharply.
Catania airport announces the immediate reopening of sector C1 after the transition of the alert status for the volcanic activity of Etna from RED to ORANGE. However, arrivals and departures remain suspended until 2pm today (and no longer 3pm compared to before), 15 August, due to the contamination of the airport infrastructure and the volcanic ash detected in sector B3. Passengers are advised to check their flight status with airlines before heading to the airport.
The explosive activity on Etna is decreasing. In a new notice for aviation (Vona, Volcano observatory notice for aviation), the INGV of Catania reports a "weak emission of volcanic ash" which falls in the summit area but which "does not produce any eruptive cloud". The flight alert level was thus changed from red to orange. Even the volcanic tremor, the indicator of the volcano's internal energy, dropped from high values to normal values: a signal that could indicate a truce or the start of the conclusion of the last eruptive phase of Europe's highest active volcano.
The closure of sectors C1 and B3 has been extended until 3pm today, with consequent suspension of arrivals and departures, due to the eruptive activity of Etna. "Passengers are asked to check the status of their flight with the airlines before going to the airport", says Sac, the management company of Catania airport. The effusive activity continues, explains Ingv, from the eruptive vent at an altitude of 1900 meters and from a neighboring ephemeral vent. Activity has ceased at the mouth at an altitude of 2750 metres.
