Continued volcanic activity at Mount Etna has forced the closure of Vincenzo Bellini Airport, Sicily's busiest. Airport authorities announced on Friday that flights would be suspended until at least 2pm local time (12:00 GMT) Saturday, with ash from the volcano causing the most severe disruption the airport has experienced in over two decades.
The eruption has led to the cancellation of more than a third of the airport's 1,974 scheduled flights between last Thursday and this Wednesday, with an additional 600 flights diverted in the same period. Etna, Europe's tallest and most active volcano, lies about 30 kilometers south of Catania, raising questions about the wisdom of maintaining a major airport so close to volcanic activity.
Hundreds of passengers were left waiting at the airport as flights were canceled or delayed during the busiest travel week of the year. Many with plans to travel through Catania on Saturday were contacting airlines to check their flight status.
"We were supposed to leave on Wednesday, but the flight was canceled; then they rescheduled it for Friday. Now that flight is canceled too," Antonella Thirande Warnakulasuriya Costa, a passenger traveling to Sri Lanka via Dubai, told Reuters.
Catania Airport typically handles at least 40,000 passengers daily. Local media reported that around 300 passengers had been waiting since Thursday evening for transfer to other airports. Ash from Mount Etna has not only affected the European region but has spread as far as North Africa.
In response to the disruption, rail company Trenitalia added six extra trains on the Palermo–Messina–Catania route to assist passengers. While travelers can often claim compensation if their plans are severely disrupted, volcanic eruptions are generally classified as force majeure, meaning airlines have no legal obligation to pay compensation.
