Eruptive activity continues on Mount Etna, where lava flows continue to descend on the slopes of the volcano, as seen from Serracozzo near Catania, Italy on Aug 11, 2026. (Photo: AP/Simone Genovese)

Persistent Mount Etna ash shuts Sicily's Catania airport during peak holiday week

The latest activity by Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, has been unusual for its persistence and sustained ash emissions. 

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MILAN: Ash spewing from Sicily’s Mount Etna has forced the closure of the Italian island’s largest airport for the fifth consecutive day, stranding hundreds of summer holiday travellers during the biggest travel week of the year.

Catania’s airport will remain closed until early Saturday (Aug 15), which falls on the Ferragosto holiday that marks the height of the Italian summer holiday season when millions flock to the sea and mountains, deserting Italian cities.

While Etna’s activity often interrupts flights at the airport, located 30km south of the volcano, this is the longest emergency since 2002.

“Volcanic ash can be a great risk for aircraft," said Boris Behncke, a researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology’s Etna Observatory. “It can be sucked into the motors, and force them to stall. This is why everyone is so very cautious with aircraft when there is a volcanic ash emission.”

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Eruptive activity continues on Mount Etna, where lava flows continue to descend on the slopes of the volcano, as seen from Mareneve near Catania, Italy, Aug 13, 2026. (Photo: AP/Salvatore Allegra)
Passengers wait inside the terminal at Vincenzo Bellini Catania Airport following the closure of the airport due to an ash cloud from Sicily’s Mount Etna eruption in Catania, Italy, Aug 14, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Matteo Minnella)

Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. The latest activity has been unusual for its persistence and sustained ash emissions. Northerly winds have spread light amounts of ash to Malta and northern Africa.

“There have been many shorter interruptions - and stronger eruptions - over the past few decades, but this event is different because the ash emission from Etna’s summit has been much more persistent,” Behncke said.

The closure has forced planes to be rerouted to other airports on the island, which has pushed up taxi fares and car rental prices, according to the Corriere della Sera daily. The Codacons consumer association has announced it will file a complaint with Italy’s competition authority following complaints about price gouging.

The SAC airport operator said 36 per cent of nearly 2,000 flights scheduled to arrive in Catania from Aug 6 to Aug 12 had been cancelled, while more than 600 were diverted to Palermo, Trapani and Comiso in Sicily and Lamezia Terme in Calabria. Flights were able to depart Catania over the weekend, but the airport was officially closed to both incoming and outgoing flights Monday. Comiso also was briefly closed.

The Italian train company Trenitalia has added six trains along the Palermo-Messina-Catania route to help ease the travel pressure.

Source: AP/zl

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