Mount Etna on Italy's Sicily island has continued to spew ash and lava, stranding tourists who traveled there for vacation season. More than 700 flights have been canceled, and losses for the tourism industry are expected to reach hundreds of billions of won.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 13th, ash that has poured from Mount Etna since last week has blanketed eastern Sicily and nearby airspace, leading to the cancellation of more than 700 flights at Catania Airport, the region's main gateway.
Catania Airport has repeatedly closed and reopened since the 7th. Coinciding with the peak summer vacation season, tens of thousands of tourists faced travel disruptions, and some passengers slept near the airport's baggage conveyor belts.
Sicilian authorities and Catania Airport are running train and bus shuttles for passengers on flights diverted to other airports. Volunteers have been deployed at the airport to hand out water and otherwise assist stranded tourists.
Economic damage to the tourism sector is also mounting. An economic group in Sicily estimated that continued eruptions during the peak vacation season would cost the tourism industry $15 million to $29 million (about 21.2 billion won to 41 billion won).
Mount Etna is considered one of the most active volcanoes in Europe. Since the 6th, it has continued to emit ash and lava.
Salvatore Gambino, director of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), said, "Etna is an active volcano and erupts frequently, but sustained ash emissions like this are unusual."
Volcanic activity is relatively stable at present, but it is unclear how long flight disruptions will continue. Gambino noted, "It is impossible to predict how much ash Mount Etna will emit and for how long."