Drone footage captures Etna cable car operating above volcanic landscape

Euronews this week released drone footage showing the Mount Etna cable car carrying visitors above the Sicilian volcano's rugged slopes, with engineers working to manage the risks of eruptions, volcanic gases, and extreme weather conditions.

The video, shot from above, captures the cable car's path as it ascends the mountain from the Sapienza Refuge at around 1,900 metres, climbing toward the summit area where the volcano frequently vents ash and lava. According to the report, the cable car operates year-round but requires constant monitoring: volcanic tremors can destabilise the cables, sulphur dioxide emissions can corrode equipment, and sudden ash clouds can reduce visibility. Engineers regularly inspect the system and have developed protocols to shut down operations when seismic activity increases beyond a threshold.

Mount Etna, standing at 3,357 metres, is one of the world's most active volcanoes and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The cable car, originally built in the 1960s and upgraded several times since, is a major tourist attraction, carrying hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. It provides access to the volcano's central craters, where guided tours allow visitors to observe eruptions from a safe distance. The Euronews footage underscores the engineering challenge of operating tourist infrastructure on an active volcano; the system must withstand temperatures ranging from summer heat at the base to snow and ice at higher elevations, as well as the constant threat of new fissures opening on the slopes.

The volcano has been particularly active in 2026, with several paroxysmal eruptions since spring that sent ash plumes over eastern Sicily and caused temporary closures of Catania's Fontanarossa airport. International volcanologists have noted that Etna's activity this year is within normal parameters for the volcano, which has cycles of heightened activity. The cable car has been shut down briefly during the most intense phases, but the company managing it has invested in real-time monitoring systems that link with the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) to ensure rapid response.

For Sicily's tourism sector, the cable car is a vital link. Etna draws visitors from around the world, and the cable car offers a rare opportunity to access a high-altitude volcanic environment with relative ease. Local tour operators and guides depend on its reliable operation. The drone footage released by Euronews serves as both a promotional tool and a reminder of the inherent risks. As the Guardian and other international outlets have reported, Europe's wildfires and heatwaves are intensifying, but volcanoes present a different, more predictable kind of danger—one that engineers on Etna have learned to manage through decades of experience.