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Mount Etna Eruption Disrupts Sicily’s Troubled Catania Airport 

Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, lights up the night sky with eruptions as seen from Rocca Della Valle, Italy, August 13, 2023. (Etna Walk/Marco Restivo/ Handout via Reuters)
Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, lights up the night sky with eruptions as seen from Rocca Della Valle, Italy, August 13, 2023. (Etna Walk/Marco Restivo/ Handout via Reuters)
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Mount Etna Eruption Disrupts Sicily’s Troubled Catania Airport 

Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, lights up the night sky with eruptions as seen from Rocca Della Valle, Italy, August 13, 2023. (Etna Walk/Marco Restivo/ Handout via Reuters)
Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, lights up the night sky with eruptions as seen from Rocca Della Valle, Italy, August 13, 2023. (Etna Walk/Marco Restivo/ Handout via Reuters)

Flights serving the eastern Sicilian city of Catania were halted on Monday after an eruption from nearby Mount Etna, local authorities said, bringing fresh travel woe to the crisis-plagued Italian airport.

The 3,330 meter (10,925 ft) high volcano burst into action overnight, firing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island. The lava flow subsided before dawn, but ash was still coming from one of the craters.

Flights to and from Catania, a popular tourist destination, would be suspended until 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT), the airport said on Twitter.

Catania Mayor Enrico Trantino banned the use of motorcycles and bicycles in the city for the next 48 hours, because many streets were covered in ash, and ordered cars to drive no faster than 30 kph (19 mph) due to the skiddy conditions.

The latest cancellations at Catania airport, which attracts more arrivals than the island's capital, Palermo, came a month after a fire at a terminal building led to weeks of disruptions for passengers.

The last major eruption was in 1992.

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UK Travel Disrupted as Storm Bert Fallout Continues

Waves crash over the harbor arm caused by high winds from Storm Bert in Folkestone, Britain, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Waves crash over the harbor arm caused by high winds from Storm Bert in Folkestone, Britain, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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UK Travel Disrupted as Storm Bert Fallout Continues

Waves crash over the harbor arm caused by high winds from Storm Bert in Folkestone, Britain, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Waves crash over the harbor arm caused by high winds from Storm Bert in Folkestone, Britain, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Britain's roads and railways were hit by closures on Monday after Storm Bert battered the country over the weekend, causing widespread flooding and killing four people.

There were more than 200 flood warnings and flood alerts in place across England and Wales, while trains from London to the southwest were cancelled and rail services in central England were severely disrupted.

"Do not attempt to travel on any route today," Great Western Railway, whose trains connect London to Bristol and Cornwall, said on X.

Among those killed during the storm were a dog walker in North Wales and a man who died when a tree hit his car in southern England.

Major roads in Northamptonshire and Bristol were closed, while fallen trees on rail lines cut off services between London and Stansted Airport, Britain's fourth busiest hub.

The disruption comes after Storm Bert hit Britain late on Friday, bringing snow, rain and strong winds.

The Met Office kept a warning for strong winds in place for northern Scotland on Monday and said the storm would clear from that part of the country early on Tuesday.