Italy: Catania airport reopens after Mount Etna eruption

17 Feb, 2021

Catania cleans up volcanic ash after spectacular eruption of Mount Etna.

Catania airport in Sicily reopened at 09.00 this morning after being forced to close on 16 February due to the spectacular eruption of the nearby Mount Etna volcano.

The north-eastern city of Catania, along with various other towns in the province, were covered in a layer of ash and lapilli.

Teams of workers at Catania airport spent the night clearing the runway of the large amount of volcanic ash to allow air traffic to resume today.

Italy’s Mount Etna volcano spews lava into night sky

Similar clean-up work is underway in nearby towns as authorities count the damage to vehicles, buildings and crops.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) has reduced the "VONA" (Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation) warning for airspace, which went from yesterday’s red to orange today.