Mount Etna ash shuts Catania Airport as 700 flights are canceled across Sicily

Sicily’s Catania Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) will remain closed until the early hours of August 14, 2026, as ash from Mount Etna continues to drift across eastern Sicily at the peak of the summer season. 

Airport operator SAC said in a statement issued late on August 12, 2026, that arrivals and departures would be suspended through 02:00 local time on August 14, after Italian authorities extended the closure of the affected airspace to sector B3.  

“Passengers are advised to check the status of their flights with their airlines,” the operator said. 

Around 700 flights canceled as disruption spreads across Sicily  

Roughly 400 departures were canceled between August 8 and August 11, 2026, with a further 52 scrapped on August 12, 2026, according to figures published by SAC.  

Counting canceled arrivals, about 700 flights have been lost since the eruptive phase intensified. More than 250 flights have been rerouted to other Sicilian airports: over 100 to Comiso (CIY) since the start of the emergency, around 50 to Palermo (PMO) on August 11 alone and another 22 to Trapani (TPS).  

For August 12, 2026, SAC listed 50 departures operating from alternative fields (33 from Palermo, 14 from Trapani and three from Comiso), while 40 arrivals were diverted to Palermo, 12 to Trapani and five to Comiso. Ryanair, easyJet, ITA Airways and Wizz Air, the four largest operators at Catania, have absorbed most of the schedule changes. 

Comiso itself briefly suspended flights on the evening of August 11, 2026, because of ashfall, before returning to full operations. 

Volcanic ash cloud reaches Malta and the Mediterranean  

Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) reported that the eruptive phase was continuing from vents at roughly 2,750 meters and 2,360 meters, feeding extensive lava fields, with ash the primary aviation concern. Its Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation has remained at red, the highest aviation color code. A Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre bulletin issued on the evening of August 11, 2026, placed the densest ash over Sicily, with lower concentrations extending between eastern Malta and northern Libya. Malta International Airport (MLA) reported cancellations and delays overnight into August 12, 2026, and continued to warn passengers of possible disruption. 

Repeated Etna closures revive debate over airport resilience  

Ash is abrasive and can degrade engines, sensors, and windshields. Catania has been closed repeatedly by the same hazard, including a May 2023 eruption that scrapped 68 flights in a single day. 

Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said the repeated shutdowns at Catania and Comiso had revived a long-standing question about the airport system’s exposure, one he had raised years earlier as president of the province of Catania. The post Mount Etna ash shuts Catania Airport as 700 flights are canceled across Sicily appeared first on AeroTime.

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