Overview
- The Etna eruption has been active since Friday, producing multiple ash‑rich plumes and new lava vents that continue to send ash across eastern Sicily.
- Catania’s Fontanarossa airport has run repeated landing suspensions and operator SAC extended closures into Aug. 13, leaving flight schedules subject to hour‑by‑hour change.
- Roughly 30,000 travellers are reported affected and hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted, with some coverage estimating about 700 flights impacted since the outage began.
- Ash has disrupted other regional links, including cancelled flights at Malta, overwhelmed Palermo and Comiso airports, packed trains and ferries, and reports of heavily inflated shuttle and taxi fares for evacuees.
- Scientists at INGV and VAAC bulletins are driving reopenings because volcanic ash can damage jet engines, and local officials say the episode exposes a need for stronger island transport capacity during such events.