Catania, Italy, Aug 8 (V7N) - Mount Etna, one of the world's most active volcanoes, erupted on Saturday, belching smoke and ashes and forcing the suspension of arrivals at Catania Airport on the Italian island of Sicily.
"Due to Etna's eruptive activity and the associated release of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, the airspace corresponding to the cloud (Sector C1) has been closed," the airport said in a statement. "All arriving flights at Catania Airport are suspended until 12:00 local time (1000 GMT). Departures of aircraft currently at the airport are operating normally."
A plume of smoke could be seen billowing from the summit on a webcam from the National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology, which monitors Etna.
At 3,324 metres (nearly 11,000 feet), Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe and has erupted frequently over the past 500,000 years. Catania International Airport, serving Sicily's eastern coast—a major tourist destination—handled about 12 million passengers in 2024.
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