For the seventh consecutive day, thousands of travelers in Sicily are facing flight cancellations and delays as Mount Etna’s ongoing volcanic activity continues to cause major disruption to air travel.

According to Corriere della Sera, Catania’s Fontanarossa Airport has been operating under continuous restrictions due to volcanic ash and today will remain closed until at least 6:00 p.m. For the time being, it is impossible to predict when normal operations will be fully restored.

According to initial estimates, Mount Etna’s activity has forced the diversion of around 190 flights to Palermo alone, affecting approximately 30,000 passengers.

Queues at airports

On social media, travelers have been posting images of long lines at airline service counters and complaining that they were informed at the last minute that they would have to travel to a different airport in order to depart.

Palermo, Trapani and, until last night, Comiso have served as the main alternative airports. However, volcanic ash also forced authorities to close Comiso Airport, further reducing the available options.

Traveling from Catania to Palermo or Trapani has itself become a major challenge. Buses are full, rental cars are in extremely short supply, shuttle services are insufficient, and taxi fares are particularly expensive.

Ash reached Libya

Meanwhile, just a short distance from the disruption at Fontanarossa Airport, the volcanic activity has been attracting hundreds of visitors climbing the mountain to watch the spectacular lava flows.

According to the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Toulouse, the volcanic ash cloud has reached an altitude of approximately 5,500 meters (18,000 feet) and is moving south and southwest. Small amounts of ash have been detected as far away as Malta and Libya.