Catania Fontanarossa (CTA, ICAO LICC) works every day of the year. It does not have a seasonal closure or a night curfew that stops it: when it stops, it is almost always because of Etna. This page explains how to find out the real status in a couple of minutes, why volcanic ash grounds aircraft, and what you can ask for if your flight is cancelled. We are an independent portal, not the airport operator: we do not publish a live status of our own, we point you to the sources that hold it.
Check the status now: the three sources that matter
In this order, from the most specific to the most general. The first one answers about your flight; the other two explain why.
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Official airport flight board — aeroporto.catania.it
Departures and arrivals in real time, plus the operator's own notices when operations are restricted. This is the only page that states whether flights are actually moving.
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INGV — Osservatorio Etneo
The institute that monitors Etna. Its updates tell you whether there is an eruptive episode under way and how high the ash column is — the two facts that decide the airport's day.
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Toulouse VAAC — Volcanic Ash Advisories
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre responsible for Etna (volcano 211060). It publishes the ash cloud forecasts that airlines and air traffic control actually fly by.
Then check your own flight with the airline: during an ash event, cancellations are decided flight by flight, and a departure that shows as regular in the morning can be dropped two hours later.
Why volcanic ash stops aircraft
Volcanic ash is not soot. It is pulverised rock and volcanic glass, hard and abrasive, and it melts at a temperature lower than the one inside a jet engine. An engine that ingests it melts those particles in the combustion chamber and then deposits them, solidified, on the turbine blades: the airflow is choked and the engine can lose thrust. On the outside, the same particles frost the windshield and can block the pitot tubes that measure airspeed.
This is why the response is precautionary rather than proportional: even a thin ash cloud is enough to close a corridor. At Catania the effects usually take one of three forms, in increasing order of disruption: a reduction in the number of movements per hour; the use of a single runway direction, depending on where the wind is carrying the plume; and, in the worst case, a temporary suspension of operations until the runway has been swept and the ash has dispersed. It is normal for the airport to reopen and then reduce again within the same day, because everything depends on the wind.
If your flight is cancelled: what you can ask for
For flights departing from an EU airport, and for flights arriving in the EU on an EU carrier, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 applies. Volcanic ash is generally treated as an extraordinary circumstance, and that changes what is owed to you — but it does not cancel it.
| What | Owed? | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed compensation (Art. 7) | No | Article 5(3) exempts the carrier when the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided. |
| Refund or re-routing (Art. 8) | Yes | You choose: the full price of the ticket back, or a new flight to the same destination at the earliest opportunity. |
| Care: meals, hotel, transfers (Art. 9) | Yes | In case C-12/11 the Court of Justice of the EU held that this obligation has no temporal or monetary limit, even during a prolonged airspace closure. |
Practical consequence: if you are stuck at Catania because of ash, do not expect the €250–€600 compensation — but do keep every receipt for meals and accommodation and claim them from the airline, because those are owed. If the carrier refuses to arrange care, pay, keep the invoices and ask for reimbursement afterwards.
In Italy the national enforcement body for passenger rights is ENAC, which is where a complaint goes if the airline does not answer within six weeks.
Terminals, and where to wait
Catania has two passenger terminals in use: Terminal A, which handles scheduled flights, and Terminal C, used as additional capacity in the busiest periods. They are a few hundred metres apart and share the same landside area, so a delay does not force you to move between them: check the boarding gate on the board rather than assuming.
If the wait turns into hours, the car parks are the practical detail nobody thinks about: they are open 24 hours a day, every day, so a delayed pick-up does not lock your car in overnight. Rates and distances are on our parking page, with the official figures.
Frequently asked questions
Is Catania Airport open today?
Catania Fontanarossa (CTA) normally operates every day. Closures are not scheduled: they are decided hour by hour when volcanic ash from Etna reaches the airport or the airspace above it. The only reliable answer for "today" is the airport operator's live flight board, plus the status of your specific flight with your airline.
Why does Mount Etna close Catania Airport?
Volcanic ash is made of fine, abrasive particles of rock and glass. Ingested by a jet engine, it melts in the combustion chamber and solidifies on the turbine blades, which can cause a loss of thrust. It also sandblasts windshields and clogs sensors. When ash falls on the runway or drifts into the flight paths, the airport reduces movements, uses a single runway direction or suspends operations until the runway is swept and the airspace is clear.
Where can I check Etna's activity right now?
The Osservatorio Etneo of INGV (Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) publishes the monitoring updates on Etna, and the Toulouse VAAC issues the Volcanic Ash Advisories used by aviation for Etna, listed as volcano 211060. Neither of them tells you whether your flight departs: for that you still need the airport board and your airline.
My flight was cancelled because of volcanic ash. Am I entitled to compensation?
Under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, a cancellation caused by volcanic ash is generally treated as an extraordinary circumstance, so the fixed financial compensation of Article 7 is not due. What remains due is a refund or re-routing under Article 8 and care under Article 9 — meals, refreshments, accommodation and transfers. In case C-12/11 (McDonagh v Ryanair, 31 January 2013) the Court of Justice of the EU held that this duty of care has no temporal or monetary limit, even during a prolonged airspace closure.
Is there an alternative airport if Catania closes?
The nearest alternative is Comiso (CIY), in the province of Ragusa, also operated by SAC. Palermo (PMO) is the other Sicilian option. When ash closes Catania, airlines typically divert to those airports or to the mainland: check with your airline where your flight has actually been re-routed before travelling.
Page reviewed on 6 August 2026. AeroportoCatania.it is an independent information portal and is not affiliated with the airport operator or with any airline: for binding operational information always refer to the official sources linked above.