Spectacular Mount Etna Eruption Grounds Flights in Italian Island of Sicily
15:58 GMT 22.05.2023 (Updated: 15:59 GMT 22.05.2023)
© AP Photo / Salvatore AllegraSmoke billows from a crater of Mount Etna volcano, background, seen from Catania, southern Italy, Thursday, March 4, 2021.
© AP Photo / Salvatore Allegra
Subscribe
Mount Etna, one of Sicily's landmarks, has frequently become active in recent years. The 2010 eruption disrupted air traffic by sending a cloud of hazardous ash drifting across the Atlantic Ocean.
Flights to and from Catania airport on Sicily have been cancelled after erupting Mount Etna spewed ash across the Italian island.
Authorities announced on Sunday that the airport would be closed until 9 am on Monday morning due to the fall of soot on the runway. The re-opening time was later revised to 6 am.
Showers of volcanic ash can cut visibility, damaged aircraft control surfaces and even cause engine failures. The 2010 eruption sent a huge cloud of ash drifting across the Atlantic, disrupting air traffic.
Video footage bore witness to the spectacular lava fountains that reached 10 km (6 miles) into the air according to volcanologist Boris Behncke from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology’s Etna station.
Mount Etna erupts, raining ash on Catania, halts flights to Sicily's Catania airport
— Earth42morrow (@Earth42morrow) May 21, 2023
VC: Massimiliano Salfi#Volcano #Italy #MountEtna #Etna #Eruption #Sicily #Catania #Sicilia #Viral #Climate #Ceniza #Adrano pic.twitter.com/bZBQjNZDrM
Other videos showed black volcanic ash, brought down in rain, settling on cars on the island.
Pulso eruptivo del Monte #Etna causa estragos en #Sicilia #Italia 🇮🇹
— Geól. Sergio Almazán (@chematierra) May 21, 2023
🌋
Erupción del Etna deja #ceniza en carreteras y automóviles en #Adrano (CT)
Vía @localteamtv pic.twitter.com/jdrBnKQimi
It seems that #Etna is erupting. It’s raining rain and ash 👀
— Volcaholic 🇰🇪 🇬🇧 🌋 (@volcaholic1) May 21, 2023
Rain rain go away!
pic.twitter.com/DOmhP8ziVa
Mount Etna, one of Sicily's top tourist attractions, last erupted in 2022. During the 2017 eruption, tourists and a BBC film crew had to be hurriedly evacuated.