The largest volcano in Europe erupted early Thursday morning local time, causing flights at the nearby Catania Airport to be halted. (Courtesy: Etna Walk via Storyful)
CATANIA, Italy – Mount Etna, the largest volcano in Europe, erupted early Thursday morning local time and interrupted flight operations at a nearby airport.
Located on the east coast of Sicily, the volcano spewed enough ash into the air to halt flights coming in and out of Catania Airport Thursday morning.
Mount Etna shoots lava into the air.
(Etna Walk via Storyful)
“The runway at #CTAairport is unusable due to volcanic ash fallout: both arrivals and departures are suspended,” airport officials tweeted.
WATCH: LAVA EXPLODES OUT OF ITALY’S MOUNT ETNA VOLCANO
As of Thursday afternoon, the airport announced that it had resumed departures but will limit the number of arrivals per hour throughout the evening.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology detected an increase in Strombolian activity on the volcano Wednesday night.
Strombolian activity involves discrete explosive bursts that throw fiery volcanic material into the air, according to the National Park Service.
Map showing location of Mount Etna.
(FOX Weather / FOX Weather)
Mount Etna has erupted multiple times this summer, including one time in early August when it temporarily halted flights.