CLOSURE OF CATANIA AIRPORT EXTENDED DUE TO ETNA ERUPTION

ROME, SEPTEMBER 28 /SRNA/ – Catania Airport, Sicily, has extended flight restrictions due to a dense ash cloud rising from nearby Mount Etna, which has been disrupting air traffic since the weekend.

The airport, the most important one on the Italian island, said that airlines are transferring passengers to other Sicilian airports, such as Palermo and Comiso.

The flight ban at Catania Airport has been extended until midnight, the DPA news agency reported.

The Mediterranean islands are a popular tourist destination, and tourists have been facing months of travel disruptions due to volcanic ash from Mount Etna. Catania Airport has restricted flights several times this summer.

Etna is the most active volcano in Europe. Ash is currently being emitted from the northeastern crater, with winds carrying it southward.

A reddish-brown plume of smoke reached a height of four kilometers, the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology reported.