A new eruption of Mount Etna has forced Sicily’s Catania Airport to extend its closure, as volcanic ash disrupts flights during the peak summer holiday season. All arrivals and departures were suspended until 4 pm GMT on August 12, with passengers urged to check their flight status.
Nearby Malta has also experienced cancellations and delays, while Italian airports in Palermo and Comiso have taken diverted flights, creating overcrowding and transport difficulties for stranded travelers.
Mount Etna, Europe’s highest and one of its most active volcanoes, frequently disrupts operations at Catania Airport, Sicily’s main air gateway and Italy’s fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic.
Indeed, from Vesuvius to Laki, history has seen some monstrous volcanic eruptions. Many of these volcanoes are stratovolcanoes, meaning cone-shaped elevations built over time from layers of ash, lava, and other volcanic materials. Their steep slopes can produce deadly pyroclastic flows, making them among the most dangerous types of volcanoes.
The power of volcanic eruptions is measured using the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), a scale ranging from zero to eight. Each increase represents a roughly tenfold increase in the volume of material ejected. Need examples? Click on to find out!