easyJet and Ryanair flight warning to UK tourists travelling to Italy due to Catania Airport fire

easyJet and Ryanair have issued a warning to UK tourists that some flights to Italy have been rescheduled or cancelled due to an airport fire.

No flights to or from the UK will land at Catania airport until 26 July following a fire in a terminal building on Sunday night (16 July), the cause of which has not yet been confirmed. The airport was due to reopen earlier this week but authorities have now said that Terminal A, where the fire happened, will reopen on 24 July.

The damage caused by the blaze has meant urgent repairs need to be carried out, resulting in disruption to flights travelling to and from Catania over the coming weeks.

In an update to passengers on Thursday (20 July), Ryanair said it has rescheduled some flights to Palermo and Trapani airports, adding that any customers affected by cancellations will be notified by email and SMS.

The airline said: “As result of a fire that occurred at Catania airport on Sunday 16th July, Ryanair has currently rescheduled a number of flights to and from Palermo and Trapani airports and passengers have been notified of these changes by Email and SMS. All passengers who have been affected by a cancellation have also been notified via Email and SMS of their options.”

EasyJet is also running a reduced flight schedule at Catania Airport and is instead trying to re-route as many as possible to nearby airports to minimise disruption for passengers.

The airline said in a recent update: “Following a fire that damaged part of the terminal building, Catania Airport is operating a significantly reduced schedule. We are hoping to operate as many flights as possible by re-routing to nearby airports.

“We will update you with any changes to our flying program as soon as they happen on flight tracker, which can be found online or via the easyJet app. Whilst outside of our control, we apologise for any inconvenience experienced as a result of this disruption.”

It comes after Jet2 warned passengers earlier this week that it has been left with “no option” but to withdraw and cancel all its flights to Catania until Thursday 3 August, with affected passengers to be issued with a refund. Passengers who are due to travel home from Catania with Jet2 up to 3 August may see their flights rescheduled to nearby airports.

The airline said it will instead operate return flights leaving Catania between 19 July to 25 July from Trapani Airport and any passengers due to travel during this date range will be contacted by Jet2’s operations team “in due course” with options.

Meanwhile, flights due to depart Catania to the UK from 26 July and 3 August have been cancelled. Affected customers will be sent details on their booking to provide them with travel options.

The fire has prompted the UK Foreign Office to issue an alert for holidaymakers travelling to Italy, with passengers advised to contact their travel operator regarding flight details.

The government body said: “Due to a fire in the airport terminal, Catania airport is operating a limited number of flights. You should contact your travel operator for details of cancelled or diverted flights.”

The flight canellations come after Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, was erupting on Sunday (16 July) causing ash to spew on Catania, eastern Sicily’s largest city, forcing a suspension of flights at the city’s airport, which said that due to ashfall, flight operations were temporarily suspended.

Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said that ash had fallen on Catania and at least one town on Mount Etna’s inhabited slopes, but no injuries were reported.