Mount Etna ash cloud grounds all flights at Catania airport for a third consecutive day

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026 · last updated 29 September 2026.

Catania airport, Italy's fifth-busiest by passenger traffic, has halted all flights for the third day running after Mount Etna propelled an ash cloud four kilometres into the sky, triggering the closure of two airspace sectors. Thousands of holidaymakers have been left stranded, with some travelling across the island to Palermo to look for alternative flights home.

This summer, Mount Etna has disrupted Catania flights on three separate occasions, among them a five-day closure in August that was the longest such emergency since 2002.

Volcanic ash is hazardous to jet engines because it can be drawn in and cause them to stall; neither onboard aircraft radar nor air traffic control radar is capable of detecting it.

Flights to and from London Gatwick and London Luton appeared on the schedule but were expected to be cancelled due to the continuing flight restrictions.