Countermand, Catania Airport is back in full operation. After weeks of heavy disruption due to Etna's eruptive activity, on the morning of Tuesday 18 August the all sectors reopened previously closed and remove all restrictionsi. “Flight activities are restored with immediate effect departing and arriving at Catania airport”, communicates the SAC. Just two hours ago, the company that manages the Etna state, had extended the restrictions on arrivals until 18 pm today, Tuesday 18 August. The about-face comes following the passage of the state of alert of volcanic activities from red to orange.
Etna doesn't stop
Meanwhile, Etna continues to erupt. The latest bulletin released by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) on the volcano's activity reports aexplosive activity decreasing and a'weak' ash emission, which allows aircraft to take off and land safely.
Yesterday afternoon the institute had also reported the opening of an effusion vent in Bove Valley. “The lava field in the Valle del Bove appears to be cooling overall, although a vent at 1900 m remains active, feeding a flow that reaches an altitude of around 1600 m,” the INGV wrote.
CNA Sicilia: "Transforming the airport system into an integrated network"
“Faced with a phenomenon that is destined to recur, the management company Sac of the Catania airport, in collaboration with regional and national institutions, must overcome the logic of emergency and prepare a structural plan that will transform the entire island airport system into a integrated and resilient network. In particular, it calls for the strengthening and full integration of the airports of Comiso, Trapani, and Palermo as stable operational alternatives and not as simple 'spare wheels', so as not to be caught unprepared for the next emergency".
Cna Sicilia says so. "We can no longer allow every eruption to become an emergency managed in a haphazard manner "—says CNA Sicilia president Filippo Scivoli—The tourism and hospitality industry is paying a very high price in terms of image and lost revenue. Our region thrives on tourist flows concentrated in the summer months, and every lost day weighs disproportionately on the budgets of small businesses. Comiso It exists, has adequate runways and infrastructure, and can be integrated into a coordinated plan. Likewise, Trapani cannot remain a secondary airport: it has untapped potential that must be exploited to relieve pressure on other airports. We need the political and managerial will to invest in these airports, going beyond the resources already allocated, and to create a true multi-airport protocol that guarantees territorial continuity even in crisis situations.
