Etna's ash grounds Sicily flights, snarling summer travel

Mount Etna has continued to erupt in Sicily, forcing Catania airport to suspend flights again as the volcano spews lava and volcanic ash, according to Deutsche Welle. The eruption has disrupted travel during the peak summer holiday season, with the NYT reporting hundreds of flights canceled and tens of thousands of travelers' plans upended in the past week.

The ash cloud has grounded planes at one of southern Italy's busiest airports, a hub for tourists heading to Sicilian beaches and archaeological sites. Experts quoted by the NYT note that while Etna erupts often, it rarely releases this much ash — a factor that has kept the airport closed repeatedly.

For Liguria, the disruption is more than a Sicilian problem. The region's ports and Riviera resorts draw many of the same summer travelers now stranded or rerouted, and the closure adds pressure to Italy's already strained transport system during the busiest weeks of the year.