FLIGHTS have been cancelled at a popular tourist destination this morning after a volcano eruption resulted in the closure of the airport. As many as 84 flights have been cancelled because of the disruption, affecting thousands of passengers. Catania Airport on the Italian island of Sicily was forced to shut earlier today (July 5) after Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe , erupted and spewed ash into the sky, disrupting air travel.
Overall, 54 flights due to depart from Catania Airport have been cancelled, which is 43 per cent of all scheduled departures, according to aviation analysts Cirium . Meanwhile, 30 arrivals have also been cancelled, equalling 24 per cent of all scheduled arrivals. Ryanair has seen the highest number of cancellations to and from the airport, followed by easyJet and ITA Airways.
The cancellations have already affected eight outbound flights scheduled from the UK to Catania Airport today. The 11:55am easyJet flight from Edinburgh has been delayed, along with the 4:20pm easyJet flight from London Gatwick. Other delays include: The company managing the airport issued a statement, at the time, saying: "The runway at Catania Airport is unusable due to volcanic ash fall: both arrivals and departures are suspended.
" The airport has since reopened the runway on a limited basis, with only two arrivals per hour allowed. They said: "After completing the initial work to clear the runway and flight infrastructure, the Crisis Unit has ordered the airp.