Catania Airport reopens after Etna ash alert drops to orange
Arrivals and departures resumed from 12.00 GMT after hundreds of flights were canceled or diverted over the past week.
Catania Airport in Sicily resumed flights after authorities lowered the aviation alert over Mount Etna activity from red to orange. The airport operator said arrivals and departures reopened at 12.00 GMT on Saturday, earlier than a previous suspension plan that ran until 13.00 GMT. Over the past week, volcanic ash from Etna eruptions forced hundreds of flights to be canceled or diverted. Reuters reported the disruption also strained other airports in Sicily, especially Palermo, which took in an overflow of passengers at the peak of the summer holiday season. Catania is Italy's fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic.