Catania airport arrivals suspended after Etna ash

Arrivals at Catania airport in Sicily were suspended on Saturday until 12:00 local time because of ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna, the airport said.

The airport said airspace corresponding to the volcanic ash cloud, Sector C1, had been closed. Departures by aircraft already at the airport were operating normally, it said.

A plume of smoke could be seen rising from Etna's summit on a webcam operated by Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology, which monitors the volcano.

Etna, at 3,324 metres, is Europe's tallest active volcano. Catania International Airport serves eastern Sicily and handled about 12 million passengers in 2024.