Mount Etna eruption leads to alert and flight cancellations

A powerful eruption of Mount Etna on Sicily's east coast on Sunday, July 5, 2026, has severely disrupted air travel across southern Italy, leading to widespread flight cancellations and significant delays. The eruption, which began emitting ash around 7:45 a.m. local time and intensified just before 9 a.m., sent a volcanic ash cloud approximately 1.5 kilometers high, prompting aviation authorities to issue their highest-level red alert.

For safety reasons, Catania-Fontanarossa Airport suspended all incoming flights. Airport management also implemented strict traffic restrictions, limiting operations to just five aircraft movements per hour. Italy's national airline, ITA Airways, announced that all its departing and arriving flights at Catania were subject to cancellation or rescheduling. The airline advised passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport. Flight monitoring services showed all arrivals at Catania as cancelled, and some flights, including a Ryanair service from Budapest, were diverted to other airports such as Palermo.

The Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) reported that the ash emissions originated from the...