Mount Etna keeps Catania Airport closed for third day

Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, entered its tenth consecutive day of eruptive activity on Tuesday 7 July, keeping Catania-Fontanarossa Airport closed for a third straight day under a red Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation and stranding tens of thousands of travellers across Sicily's peak summer travel period.

The current eruption began on 26 June with a fissure opening at the Voragine summit crater, with Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) recording ash emissions from the following day and continuous lava flow from a vent at approximately 3,000 metres elevation. Activity intensified sharply overnight into Sunday 5 July, with strong Strombolian explosions and dense ash emissions prompting aviation authorities to raise the Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) to red, the highest of four alert levels, at which point Catania Airport suspended all incoming and departing flights.

Approximately 130 flights have been cancelled since the suspension began, with a further 50 diverted to Palermo Airport on Sicily's northwestern coast; airlines affected include Ryanair, easyJet, ITA Airways, British Airways, Wizz Air, Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, Iberia, Jet2, SAS, Delta Air Lines and Air Canada. Ryanair operates the largest Sicily route network of any low-cost carrier, connecting Catania to London Stansted, Manchester, Dublin, Brussels and Warsaw among other European cities.

Palermo Airport has absorbed the bulk of rerouted traffic, with additional diversions to Comiso and Trapani, while Sicilian regional president Renato Schifani confirmed organised bus transfers between Palermo and Catania for stranded passengers. Capacity across the island's secondary airports is under pressure with Palermo handling elevated demand simultaneously.

The ash plume reached approximately 4,500 metres at its peak, sufficient to create hazardous conditions along approach paths into Catania. INGV scientists continue to monitor seismic activity, gas emissions and ground deformation; the ground alert level remains yellow, meaning no civilian evacuations have been ordered and nearby communities face no direct danger from the eruption itself.

Catania Airport's earliest possible partial reopening was set for 10:00am local time on Tuesday, conditional on ash clearance and favourable wind conditions. Airlines are advising passengers to verify flight status directly before travelling to either Catania or Palermo airports, as the situation remains subject to change depending on Etna's behaviour.

Under EU Regulation 261/2004, volcanic eruptions are classified as extraordinary circumstances, meaning carriers are not required to pay cash compensation for cancellations. Passengers are entitled to a full refund or rebooking, plus meals and accommodation where applicable, but the financial burden of the disruption falls on travellers rather than airlines during an event of this kind.

The extended closure during peak summer season underlines a structural vulnerability for tourism-dependent regions in proximity to active volcanoes. A short ash event typically produces closures measured in hours; Etna's sustained eruption is now measured in days, compressing the recovery window for airlines managing high-season schedules with little spare capacity.