Mount Etna eruption triggers red alert and Sicily flights cancelled
A red alert has been declared across Italy as Mount Etna continues to erupt, spewing vast clouds of volcanic ash into the sky. Catania Airport has been compelled to cancel all incoming flights due to serious safety concerns as the volcano blankets Sicily in ash.
Flight monitoring service Flight Radar 24 is showing all arriving flights at Catania Airport as cancelled. Italy's flagship carrier ITA Airways has confirmed that all its flights departing and arriving at the airport will be cancelled or rescheduled in response to the ongoing situation as an ash cloud continues to spread across the surrounding region.
Video footage circulating on social media captures the active volcano on the eastern coast of the Italian island, with ash reportedly beginning to billow from the crater at around 7.45am before intensifying shortly before 9am on Sunday.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology through the Etna Observatory has elevated the aviation alert from orange to red following the heightened activity at the summit. A red alert is issued when an ash cloud presents a potential hazard to aircraft. Specialists are continuing to monitor developments through visual and thermal cameras positioned on the volcano.
Mount Etna ranks among Europe's highest and most active stratovolcanoes, located on Sicily's east coast between the cities of Messina and Catania. It remains in an almost perpetual state of activity, with its most recent eruption documented on January 1 this year.
In recent weeks, local reports observed a gradual lava flow from a fissure that emerged around 3,000 metres at the base of the Northeast Crater. The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology confirmed it detected activity in the upper Valle del Leone on June 26. Catania Airport suspended all incoming flights and will remain closed until 2pm today, with passengers advised to check their flight status with their airlines before travelling to the airport.