Major European airport closes for safety reasons in new blow to passengers

Air passengers have suffered a new blow as a major airport was closed as nearby volcano Mount Etna erupted. Plumes of smoke have been sent more than 10km into the air and Catania Airport cancelled all flights as the runway was covered in debris and ash.

It’s a new blow for holidaymakers who yesterday were told that easyJet has been forced to cancel 232 flights to and from Portugal over the next few days due to a cabin crew strike. Also today Jet2 said flights were being delayed by air traffic control issues.

Ryanair said the same problem had caused more than 100 early flights to be delayed today. After the Etna eruption in Sicily nearby towns were covered in black volcanic ash. It is estimated flights will resume at around 6pm, but this has yet to be confirmed.

British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair are among a number of airlines forced to cancel flights to and from Catania this morning. This latest disruption, the third in two months, has occurred as Italy celebrates its busiest national public holiday, Ferragosto.

In a statement this morning (August 15) Ryanair apologised to passengers for the air-traffic control chaos which it said was down to ‘staff shortages’ that were ‘affecting all European airlines’.

A spokesman said: “ATC services, which have had the benefit of no French ATC strike disruption this summer, continue to underperform (despite flight volumes being 5% behind 2019 levels) with repeated ‘staff shortages’. On Thu 15 Aug, 17% of Ryanair’s first wave departures (97 of 577 aircraft) were delayed due to ATC ‘staff shortages’. These repeated flight delays due to ATC mismanagement are unacceptable.

“We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control.” Jet2 released a statement, updated today, and said: “We’d like to let you know that due to air traffic control congestion as a result of weather across Europe today, 14th August 2024, some flights may experience a delay. All flights are expected to operate as scheduled, Check-in will close 40 minutes before your scheduled departure time.”

Anyone going to Portugal from today (Aug 15) to Saturday needs to check their flight first easyJet said. The airline runs flights to Portugal from a number of airports in the UK, including Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, London Gatwick, and Luton.

Its destinations in the country include the capital Lisbon, Porto, and Faro on the southern Algarve coast. A total of 27 return flights between the UK and Portugal have been cancelled in advance for the strike period, an EasyJet spokesperson said.

Portugal’s National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Staff (SNPVAC) called for three days of strike action for all flights operated by easyJet, as well as for other services involving air cabin crew, if their “reporting hours occur on national territory starting at 00:01 on 15 August and ending at 24:00 on 17 August”. The union has urged the airline not to cancel flights, and instead appealed to the “common sense of the company, so that it can give in to the fair demands of its workers”.

SNPVAC also asked that EasyJet “finds solutions to avoid” the strike, and accused the company of ignoring earlier proposals to avoid industrial action. Ricardo Penarroias, president of the union, previously told the AFP news agency that “working conditions never cease to worsen” for members of cabin crew, citing longer working hours and crippling staff shortages. Striking members of staff are also asking for higher bonuses.

A total of 1,138 EasyJet flights were originally scheduled over the three day period, according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso. The budget airline said it would continue to operate 62% of its flight programme to and from the country during the August 15 to August 17 strike period. An EasyJet UK spokesperson said: “We are extremely disappointed with this needless strike action, especially at this important time of the year for our customers.

“Our priority has been to try and minimise the impact of this strike action on our customers, which included cancelling some flights in advance in order to allow them to rearrange their travel plans. Customers whose flight has been affected have already been contacted a number of days ago with their options to rebook or receive a refund. We also advise customers travelling to and from Portugal on 15, 16 and 17 August to check the status of their flights on the easyJet Flight Tracker.”