Etna still stops Catania airport. All arriving and departing flights from Fontanarossa are suspended until 11 a.m. on Wednesday, August 12. Sac, the company managing the airport, has extended the closure of sector C1 and ordered the closure of B3, two portions of the airspace affected by volcanic ash. Passengers are asked to check the status of their flight with the airline before going to the airport.
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Ash decides the operation
What affected operations were Etna and especially the winds: “The airport’s operation continues to be strongly conditioned by the unpredictability of the eruptive activity,” Sac stated. The direction and intensity of the wind move the ash cloud and can impose changes to the schedule even multiple times in the same day. On Tuesday morning departures were still allowed and the stop concerned arrivals; in the afternoon the closure became total.
The volcano meanwhile continues its activity. Around 11:30 a.m. the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology observed a new eruptive vent in the Valle del Bove, above Monte Simone and at about 2,090 meters altitude.
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A recurring problem
For Fontanarossa airport this is not a new situation: Etna’s ash periodically interferes with traffic. On August 7 arrivals were suspended several times, but not departures. The last total block dates back to July 6, when traffic was restored the following day.
Now part of the traffic has been shifted to other Sicilian airports. Sac says Comiso has handled more than one hundred flights since the start of the emergency, but the airport closest to Catania has a very concrete limit: six aircraft stands. For this reason, explains the regional Infrastructure Councillor Alessandro Aricò, “it cannot represent an alternative solution” capable of absorbing Fontanarossa’s traffic.
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