Airlines forced to cancel flights as European airport closes at short notice following volcano eruption

FLIGHTS have been cancelled at a popular tourist destination this morning after a volcano eruption prevented planes from taking off.

84 flights altogether have been cancelled because of the disruption, affecting thousands of passengers.

Catania airport on the Italian island of Sicily was forced to shut on Friday (July 5) after Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, erupted and spewed ash into the sky, disrupting air travel.

The company managing the airport has released a statement, saying:”The runway at Catania Airport is unusable due to volcanic ash fall: both arrivals and departures are suspended.”

Flights are expected to resume at 3pm local time, or 2pm BST.

The airport told travellers to check the status of their flights before travelling.

Overall, 54 flights due to depart from Catania Airport have been cancelled, which is 43 per cent of all scheduled departures.

Meanwhile, 30 arrivals have also been cancelled, equalling 24 per cent of all scheduled arrivals.

Ryanair has seen the highest number of cancellations to and from the airport, followed by easyJet and ITA Airways.

Eight outbound flights were scheduled from the UK to Catania Airport today.

Ash plumes shot up into the sky as high as 4.5 kilometres, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.

Footage shared on social media on Friday showed the streets of Catania’s city centre covered in thick layers of black ash, slowing down traffic.

Mount Etna — a soaring 3,324-metres high (10,905 feet) volcano — has erupted multiple times in recent decades.

Over the last few days, its crater had started spitting out fountains of scorching lava and releasing ash that landed on Catania airport down below.

Italian authorities also issued a red warning for another volcano north of Sicily, Stromboli — on the island of the same name — whose eruption created ash clouds.

Mount Stromboli — culminating at 920 metres and with a base reaching 2,000 metres below sea level — is known for being one of the only nearly constantly active volcanoes in the world, according to the INGV.

Millions of passengers transit through Catania airport every year, connecting them to eastern Sicily, among Italy’s most popular tourist hotspots.

Brits heading to Italy had been issued with new travel advice earlier this year, after the country was hit by its “strongest earthquake in 40 years” right next to a volcano.

The Foreign Office updated its advice for anyone travelling to southern Italy after an area near Naples experienced a rise in seismic activity.