Catania airport reopens after three-day Etna ash closure

Catania-Fontanarossa Airport reopened Monday after a three-day closure caused by volcanic activity at Mount Etna, its operator said. Normal operations have resumed and all services are running again, according to the operator's statement, which said the alert level had been lowered.

The airport sits on Sicily's eastern coast and handles more traffic than any other in Italy apart from Rome's two main airports and Naples. Ash plumes from Etna began covering the area Saturday, forcing the shutdown. Such closures are recurring at Catania-Fontanarossa when the volcano is active.

Delta is currently the only U.S. carrier serving Catania, with a nonstop route from New York-JFK. United has said it plans to start flights from Newark, New Jersey, next year. The statement gave no further details on flight disruption or on when operations resumed beyond Monday.