"What is happening at the Catania and Comiso airports, with cancellations, delays, and severe disruption for thousands of residents and tourists in the height of the summer season, is reviving a problem that Sicily has long been aware of." This is according to Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci, who emphasizes that "it's not the volcano that's out of place," but the airport. In 1999, "I highlighted the limitations of Fontanarossa airport," he continues, "and its particular vulnerability due to its proximity to Mount Etna." He recalls: "We included the proposal for the airport's relocation in the Provincial Territorial Plan."
The Fontanarossa is closed these days due to the ash released by the eruption of Mount Etna, with the cloud reaching Malta and Libya.
Musumeci further explains: "We also had a preliminary study prepared for a new airport in the plain between Catania and Enna, designed to serve seven of the nine provinces. My idea was not supported. Since then," the minister continues, "almost thirty years have passed, air traffic and tourist flows have grown enormously, while the consequences of Etna's eruptions continue to periodically affect the operations of eastern airports and make them, in terms of reputation, unattractive in terms of mobility and accessibility. I returned to the issue as president of the Region, encountering hostility from the management company and indifference from the local authorities involved."
(Unioneonline)
