Catania Airport Reopens as Etna's Ash Subsides, and the South Counts Its Costs

Catania's Fontanarossa airport reopened on Tuesday evening after suspending flights for two days because of a volcanic eruption at nearby Mount Etna that sent ash into the sky, The Local Italy reported. The suspension stranded and rerouted passengers in Sicily's busiest terminal, the island's principal air gateway and the arrival point for much of its tourist traffic.

The closure was not an isolated event. Etna, Europe's most active volcano, has repeatedly interrupted air travel over Catania in recent years, and the pattern is familiar to anyone who books through the airport in the shoulder season. The Local Italy's report notes only the reopening and the cause; it does not give a figure for cancelled flights or passengers affected, and no such figure should be assumed.