Overview
- Catania’s Vincenzo Bellini airport has been closed to arrivals for several days and departures have been repeatedly suspended because ash from Mount Etna risks fouling jet engines and instruments.
- The shutdown has produced large-scale disruption with roughly a third of nearly 2,000 scheduled flights canceled, more than 600 diverted to other airports, and industry tallies pointing to about 1,000 affected services over the past week.
- The airport operator and multiple carriers warned passengers on Friday to expect continuing cancellations and diversions while authorities and the Etna observatory monitor ash and wind conditions for any safe resumption.
- The closures have left hundreds to thousands of travellers stranded, pushed flights into Palermo, Trapani, Comiso and Lamezia Terme, prompted Trenitalia to add trains, and led to sharp rises in taxi and rental-car prices that prompted a consumer complaint.
- Officials and industry groups say the episode — the worst disruption at Catania since 2002 — highlights calls for a permanent coordination body and better contingency planning to protect Sicily’s summer tourism and transport infrastructure.