Mount Etna eruption: Alert on UK flights and what it means for your upcoming vacation

UK flights on high alert as Etna eruption hits the skies

Flights are heavily disrupted as a cloud of ash is filling the Sicilian skies as the airport has been limited to 10 incoming planes per hour until 18 August.

Passengers are urged to check their flight status prior to heading for the airport.

Two flights from London in direction to the island have been disrupted due to the eruption.

This includes an EasyJet flight from Luton Airport which was due to arrive at Catania Airport around 2:15, nearly two hours later than scheduled.

Hundreds of flights have been canceled in the past week, causing air traffic disruption across Europe along the way.

About 400 departures were cancelled within 3 days, with 52 more expected to be in the same situation this week.

Although Mount Etna is not foreign to eruptions, with an earlier installment in July, this time around seems to cause significant damage to holiday goers.

Marco Viccaro, president of the Italian Volcanological Association, ​said earlier in the week that the activity at Etna is more energetic than previous episodes and is continuing in a sustained way.

"This suggests that deeper, gas-rich magma is ⁠playing ​a more active role, making the ​fragmentation process more efficient and leading to increased ash production," he said.

There are currently no disruptions on departing flights coming from the UK. 

However, another EasyJet flight, departing this time from Gatwick, is expected to arrive at 2:23, yet another delayed flight within the same day.

It is advised that you keep yourself informed if you have booked a flight for Italy’s southern island.