Mount Etna is putting Sicily’s busy summer travel season under serious pressure, with volcanic ash forcing the closure of Catania Fontanarossa Airport and leaving thousands of passengers facing canceled, delayed or diverted flights.
Catania Airport (CTA) is expected to remain closed until 2:00 a.m. local time on August 14, 2026, after Italian authorities extended restrictions on the airspace affected by the eruption. Airport operator SAC has advised passengers to check directly with their airlines before heading to the airport, as operating conditions can change quickly.
The timing could hardly be worse for Sicily’s aviation industry. August is one of the busiest periods of the year for the island, with large numbers of international visitors arriving for summer holidays.
The disruption has already reached a significant scale.
Around 700 flights have been canceled
SAC said around 400 departures were canceled between August 8 and August 11, followed by another 52 cancellations on August 12. Once canceled arrivals are included, the number of lost flights has risen to roughly 700 since the eruption intensified.
More than 250 flights have also been diverted to other airports across Sicily.
Comiso has handled more than 100 diverted flights since the start of the disruption, while Palermo received around 50 flights on August 11 alone. Trapani has also taken a share of the displaced traffic.
On August 12, SAC reported that 50 departures were being operated from alternative airports, including 33 from Palermo, 14 from Trapani and three from Comiso. On the arrivals side, 40 flights were redirected to Palermo, 12 to Trapani and five to Comiso.
For passengers, however, a diversion is not always a simple change of airport.
Someone who booked a flight to Catania could instead find themselves landing in Palermo, Trapani or Comiso, potentially leaving them with a long road journey to their original destination. During the peak summer period, that can mean additional costs, limited rental-car availability and difficulty finding alternative accommodation.
Ryanair, easyJet, ITA Airways and Wizz Air, which are among the largest carriers operating at Catania, have been dealing with a substantial share of the disruption.
Volcanic ash is the real problem for airlines
The spectacular lava flows coming from Mount Etna may be attracting visitors, but it is the ash that poses the greatest problem for aviation.
Volcanic ash is made up of tiny particles of rock and minerals. If it enters a jet engine, the material can melt inside the engine’s hotter sections and later solidify on components. Ash can also damage windscreens, sensors and other aircraft systems.
That is why airlines cannot simply fly through an ash cloud because the concentration appears relatively low from the ground.
The location and movement of the ash are constantly monitored by aviation authorities. Wind conditions can also shift the affected area, meaning an airport that is operating normally one day can suddenly face restrictions the next.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) has reported continued eruptive activity from vents on Etna, with lava flows and significant ash emissions. The aviation color code has remained at red, indicating a serious aviation hazard associated with the volcano.
An aviation advisory issued during the eruption showed the densest ash concentrated over Sicily, with lower concentrations extending toward the Mediterranean, including areas between eastern Malta and northern Libya.
That has created problems beyond Sicily itself.
Etna’s ash reaches Malta
Malta International Airport has also reported cancellations and delays linked to the volcanic ash.
The situation illustrates how an eruption on one island can affect aviation well beyond the immediate vicinity of the volcano. Aircraft operating between Italy, Malta, North Africa and other Mediterranean destinations may have to be rerouted or held away from affected airspace.
For airlines already dealing with crowded summer schedules, these changes can quickly become difficult to manage.
An aircraft diverted away from Catania is no longer where the airline originally planned to use it. The same applies to pilots, cabin crew and connecting passengers. A disruption lasting several hours can therefore continue affecting flights long after the ash has moved away.
Tourists are heading toward the eruption
There is an unusual twist to the disruption.
While thousands of air passengers are dealing with the consequences of Etna’s eruption, other travelers are trying to get closer to it.
The latest activity has generated a surge of interest among tourists who want to see the lava flows for themselves. Local guides have reported receiving hundreds of inquiries each day from visitors hoping to join nighttime excursions around the volcano.
Guide Daniele Perricelli said interest had increased dramatically, with his company receiving roughly 300 requests a day compared with the few dozen visitors it would normally take up the mountain each evening.
That demand has also raised concerns about overcrowding.
Another local guide, Ernesto Maria Magri, said as many as 2,000 people had been climbing the mountain in an evening, with some visitors reaching the area without proper equipment or experience.
The presence of tourists around an active volcano creates an obvious safety concern. Etna may erupt frequently, but that does not make its upper slopes predictable.
Some visitors have reportedly approached volcanic areas wearing inappropriate footwear, while crowds can make it harder for authorities and guides to manage access.
There are designated areas where visitors can safely observe volcanic activity, but access restrictions become increasingly important at higher elevations. Visitors heading into restricted areas or approaching active lava flows without appropriate guidance can put themselves at considerable risk.
The attraction is understandable. Watching molten lava move across the landscape is a remarkable experience.
But Etna is not a theme park attraction.
Catania’s recurring Etna problem
For Catania Airport, the latest closure is another chapter in a problem that has returned repeatedly over the years.
The airport sits close enough to Etna that eruptions and ash emissions can have an immediate effect on flight operations. Even when lava remains far from the airport, ash drifting into aviation corridors can be enough to force restrictions.
Catania has experienced previous closures and major flight cancellations during Etna eruptions. A 2023 eruption, for example, resulted in dozens of canceled flights in a single day.
The repeated disruption has also revived questions about the resilience of Sicily’s airport network.
Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci has previously raised concerns about the vulnerability of Catania and the wider regional airport system. The issue is not simply whether another airport exists on the island. It is whether those airports can absorb Catania’s traffic when the main gateway suddenly becomes unavailable.
The current eruption is providing a real-world test.
Palermo, Trapani and Comiso have all been called upon to accommodate diverted flights, while airlines have had to reorganize their schedules around an airport that normally handles a large volume of Sicily’s international traffic.
Summer passengers face an uncertain recovery
Even if Catania Airport reopens as planned on August 14, passengers should not assume that operations will immediately return to normal.
Airlines may need time to reposition aircraft and crews. Flights that were canceled during the closure cannot simply be restored without affecting the rest of the schedule. Aircraft may have been sent to other airports, while passengers could already be traveling by road after being diverted.
That means the impact of the eruption could continue for days after the runway itself becomes available again.
Passengers scheduled to fly to or from Catania should therefore check their airline’s latest flight information before traveling to the airport.
The situation also underlines a wider problem facing aviation in volcanic regions. Airports can invest heavily in infrastructure, but they cannot control the volcano next door.
For Sicily, Mount Etna is both an economic asset and a recurring operational headache. Tourists come to see its lava, while airlines have to avoid its ash.
Right now, those two sides of Etna’s identity are colliding at the height of the summer season.
With hundreds of flights already canceled and more diversions possible, the question is no longer simply when the volcano will calm down. It is how quickly Sicily’s aviation network can recover once the ash finally clears.
For more on similar developments, see: Flight Canceled? Know Your Rights and Which U.S. Airlines Handle Disruptions Best in 2025
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