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.
Other videos showed black volcanic ash, brought down in rain, settling on cars on the island.
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.