Flight operations were briefly suspended at Catania airport in Sicily, a top Italian tourist destination, after the volcanic eruption at nearby Mount Etna spewed ashes and smoke and filled the skies on Saturday.
“Following the downgrade of the volcanic activity alert level from RED to ORANGE, the resumption of flight operations has been authorised with immediate effect,” Catania airport said in a statement, news agency AFP reported, adding that flight operations were being restored gradually.
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This followed an earlier advisory where the Catania airport said that Etna’s eruptive activity and the associated release of volcanic ash into the atmosphere had forced the closure of airspace.
A plume of smoke could be seen billowing from the summit on a webcam on the website of the National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology, which monitors Etna. Mount Etna is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, the tallest in Europe.
Visuals shared on social media showed huge plumes glowing smoke and ash rising in the sky after the latest eruption.
All about Etna volcano
The National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology reported “the continuation of intense explosive activity” with “alternating phases of strong and less intense eruptions”.
At 3,324 metres, Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe and has erupted frequently in the past 500,000 years.
Last month, rivers of glowing lava were seen flowing down the slopes of Mount Etna after it erupted as the bright orange lava lighting up the night sky could be seen from a distance, BBC reported.
Though Mount Etna’s volcanic eruptions ate common, it is uncommon for it to disrupt daily lives of the locals around. The UNESCO in 2013 recognised Mount Etna volcano as a World Heritage Site, which is the tallest active volcano in Europe.
Volcano eruption in Guatemala
Meanwhile, in central America, Guatemala remained on alert early this week after Fuego volcano erupted, forcing evacuation of at least 1,700 people.
Mudflows up to 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) descended from the volcano, with rains doubling the challenge. The eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano officially ended on Wednesday, the country’s Institute of Volcanology reported. Activity at the crater, located 35 kilometers (22 miles) away from Guatemala City, officially lasted two days later, the Associated Press reported, citing national experts.
During a previous eruption of Fuego, or the Volcano of Fire, in June 2018, hundreds of people were killed and a whole village was destroyed. Another eruption last year spurred preventive evacuations.
