Italy's Catania airport reopens as Etna threat downgraded

Italy's Catania ​airport resumed flights ‌on Tuesday ​after briefly halting operations due to renewed volcanic ‌activity from nearby Mount Etna and adverse weather conditions, in the latest stop-and-go disruption to ‌air traffic.

Operator SAC said flights to and ‌from the airport had resumed with immediate effect after the volcanic alert level was lowered from red ⁠to ​orange. The ⁠hub had previously suspended operations until 1300 GMT on ⁠Tuesday, only hours after ending a three-day ​shutdown on Monday evening.

The Sicilian airport, Italy's ⁠fifth-busiest by passenger traffic, is often disrupted by volcanic ⁠ash ​interference from Mount Etna, Europe's highest and most active volcano. The latest shutdown ⁠affected thousands of passengers and placed significant pressure ⁠on ⁠other Sicilian airports, as airlines diverted flights away from Catania.