Etna ash cloud makes Friday 13th unlucky for Air Malta flight to Catania

A volcanic ash cloud over Fontanarossa Airport in Catania has forced the airport to close and is expected to resume its operation tomorrow morning at 6am local time.

As a result of this, Air Malta had to cancel its flight KM1308/9 Malta-Catania-Munich.

All other Air Malta flights are expected to operate normally. The situation is a rapidly changing one and Air Malta is closely monitoring the situation, the airline said in a statement.

“Air Malta regrets any inconvenience that its passengers may encounter due to circumstances beyond the airline’s control and urges its clients due to travel to Catania tomorrow Friday 13 May to contact flight enquiries at Malta International Airport on 50043333 for further information about flight arrival / departure times and the airline’s call centre on 21662211 for reservations purposes. Updated information will also be available on the airline’s website www.airmalta.com.”

Yesterday, the area suffered an earthquake of 3.1 magnitude, followed by an ash cloud forming and settling over the nearby city of Catania, and over a section of road due to be used on Sunday’s stage.

However, it’s not expected that the current activity on Etna will affect Sunday’s Giro stage, other than perhaps preventing TV helicopters from taking to the air should the ash cloud persist. In the meantime, of course, race organisers are monitoring the situation closely.