For the third time in a month Sicily’s main international gateway – Catania Fontanarossa – was forced to suspend all arrivals in the early hours of 17 July after a vigorous overnight eruption on Mount Etna sent a column of volcanic ash drifting across the south-eastern flight sector (identified by ENAV as “B2”). The airport operator SAC announced that traffic bound for Catania was being rerouted to Palermo-Punta Raisi and Comiso, while departures could continue on a case-by-case basis depending on wind direction. According to the crisis unit convened by ENAC, ENAV, the Italian Air Force and local civil-protection authorities, at least 15 scheduled arrivals – including EasyJet, Ryanair, ITA Airways and Iberia services from major Italian hubs such as Rome-Fiumicino, Milan-Linate and Bologna – were affected during the early morning wave. Passengers reported delays of up to six hours on onward ground transfers and re-accommodation, reviving memories of last summer’s week-long closure that cost local tourism operators an estimated €20 million. The airport’s contingency plan now foresees shuttle buses and two special Trenitalia services along the Palermo–Messina–Catania corridor when diversions exceed six hours. Trade bodies Federalberghi and Assaeroporti argue that the repeated disruptions highlight the urgency of completing the long-planned secondary runway and a permanent remote-sensing ash-monitoring radar, projects that have languished in permitting for more than five years. For multinational companies with operations in eastern Sicily – notably semiconductor fabs in Catania’s Etna Valley and the U.S. Naval Air Station at Sigonella – the closure once again underlines the need for robust travel-risk protocols, flexible ticketing policies and alternative routing via Palermo, Comiso or even Malta when Etna’s activity escalates. Business-traveller support firms are advising clients to track SAC’s Telegram channel and to reconfirm meetings scheduled for 17-18 July.
Source: La Sicilia
