Sicily’s Catania airport restarts flights after Etna alert downgrade

This handout photograph taken by Etna Walk on Aug. 11, 2026 and obtained on Aug. 12, 2026 shows visitors standing next to lava flowing from Mount Etna volcano during an eruption, in Catania, in the Mediterranean island of Sicily. (AFP)

• Ash ⁠from ​Etna’s eruptions ⁠have forced the Sicilian airport to cancel or reroute hundreds of flights

MILAN: Sicily’s Catania airport has restarted flights, ​it said on Saturday, after authorities downgraded to orange from red the aviation alert color ‌of Mount Etna’s ‌recent ​volcanic ‌activity.
Ash ⁠from ​Etna’s eruptions ⁠have forced the Sicilian airport to cancel or reroute hundreds of flights ⁠over the last ‌week.
The ‌airport, Italy’s ​fifth-busiest ‌hub by passenger ‌traffic, said on Friday it was suspending all flights until ‌1300 GMT on August 15.
However, in ⁠an ⁠update published on its website, it said it had restarted departing and incoming flights from 1200 GMT following the volcanic alert ​downgrade.