Catania Reopens, But Etna's Ash Leaves Sardinian Travellers Wary

Catania airport in Sicily reopened on Saturday after suspending flights for a week because of a volcanic eruption at nearby Mount Etna that spewed ash into the sky, according to The Local Italy. The closure, which began during the busiest travel week of the year, stranded hundreds of summer holidaymakers and forced airlines to cancel or reroute dozens of flights.

For travellers from Sardinia, the disruption was a direct hit. With direct flights between Cagliari, Olbia and Catania among the casualties, many islanders heading to Sicily for the Ferragosto holiday found themselves rebooking through Rome or Naples, or simply waiting out the closure.

The reopening brings relief, but the episode has underscored how fragile island-to-island connections remain when a single airport shuts down. As one travel agent in Cagliari put it, the week has been a reminder that the Mediterranean's busiest summer routes can be undone by a single plume of ash.

The Local Italy reported that Catania's airport resumed operations on Saturday after Etna's eruption, which had sent lava and ash cascading down the volcano's slopes, forced authorities to close the airport for seven days. The closure was the longest in recent memory, according to the report, and came at the peak of the summer travel season, when Sicily and Sardinia see their highest visitor numbers.

France 24 noted that the ash cloud had also disrupted travel across the region, with flights grounded and hundreds of passengers left stranded at Catania during the closure. The airport's operator said it had worked to clear ash from runways and aprons before reopening, but warned that further volcanic activity could force additional shutdowns at short notice.

For Sardinia, the episode carries particular weight. The island depends heavily on air connections for both tourism and the movement of goods, and its own airports at Cagliari, Olbia and Alghero are lifelines for a population of roughly 1.6 million. When Catania closed, it also cut off a key transit point for Sardinians travelling to eastern Sicily, a route popular with families visiting relatives or taking ferries to the mainland.

The reopening has eased the immediate crunch, but the week's events have left a lingering question for the region's travel industry: how to build resilience into a summer season that is increasingly vulnerable to climate-driven disruptions. With wildfires and volcanic activity both on the rise across the Mediterranean, according to The Local Italy's coverage of Europe's wildfire wave, island airports may need to prepare for more frequent, and longer, closures.

For now, travellers are being advised to check with airlines before heading to the airport, and to allow extra time for connections. The volcanic activity at Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, has not fully subsided, and officials have warned that further ash emissions could disrupt flights again in the coming days.