Catania airport in Sicily suspended all take-offs and landings until 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) Saturday after heavy volcanic ash from Mount Etna led to a temporary closure, operator Aeroporto Fontanarossa said. An overnight thunderstorm had also disrupted air traffic.
The Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the ash cloud reaches 4 kilometres into the sky; ash is emerging from Etna’s north-eastern crater and moving south with the wind. A red aviation alert, the highest of four warning levels, is in effect; the same alert level was also in place last week and in August.
