Flights to and from Catania airport in Sicily have been cancelled today amid an overnight eruption of Mount Etna.
The volcanic eruption and ash cloud led to the suspension of services until at least 6pm local time.
Passengers are being advised to check their flight status with their airline before leaving home.
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Flights cancelled as Italian volcanos erupt
Nearby towns have also been covered in black volcanic ash – the second eruption in two weeks.
Some inbound flights are being diverted to alternative airports in Sicily such as Palermo and Comiso.
The disruption is affecting both arrivals and departures from the island’s busiest airport on Italy’s Ferragosto public holiday.
Trade-only tour operator Typically Holidays was among those to come to the rescue of affected clients.
Managing director Daniele Broccoli said his team helped two passengers, who were due to fly home from Catania airport to Gatwick but whose flight was cancelled.
The operator booked a private transfer to Palermo to catch a flight back to UK the following day, on August 16, as all flights out of Catania were fully booked for the coming days.
“We got on to this at 6am and told the clients we would sort it out while they went for a coffee at the airport. We told the travel agency once they opened at 9am that we had sorted it out,” explained Broccoli, who said Mount Etna eruptions had affected passengers on numerous occasions already this summer.
“This is the service that we have built Typically on. We put the customers first. We could have put them on a bus to Palermo but instead we put them on an executive transfer and put them up in a four-star hotel for the night,” he said.