Catania Airport suspends flights following volcanic activity at Mount Etna - AOL

Catania Airport suspended all departures and arrivals after volcanic activity at Mount Etna, disrupting Sicily’s busiest air hub. The airport said flights would remain suspended until at least 6 pm CEST. Passengers were advised not to travel to the terminal without checking their flight status with their airline. Some flights were diverted to Palermo Airport, where about 33 additional flights landed on 5 July. The airport posted a list on Facebook of roughly two dozen arrivals planned for the day. The Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation, issued early on the morning, reported ongoing strong ash emissions and an estimated volcanic cloud height of around 4,500 metres. Italy’s Civil Protection raised the alert level from green to yellow on 26 June at 7:30 pm following increased volcanic tremors.