A fire hit Catania’s Fontanarossa Airport this Sunday (16) evening. With the repercussions in the terminal’s structure still unknown, the building will be closed through 14h00 of Wednesday (19), the airport’s operator, SAC, informed on its website and social media.
Le operazioni di volo sono sospese fino alle 14:00 di mercoledì 19 luglio. #CTAairport
— Aeroporto di Catania (@CTAairport) July 17, 2023
With that, all flights to the airport through the announced time as of the publishing of this report are cancelled. The other major airports in the Sicilian Region are preparing for increases as airlines transfer flights that originally went to Catania into their structures.
According to La Sicilia newspaper, the fire hit the arrivals area of the terminal. While no serious injuries were reported, some people inhaled smoke, said the newspaper. The situation was likely caused by a malfunctioning from an electric source, although the Public Prosecutor’s Catania office will investigate the case.
The CEO of SAC, the company that manages the airports of Catania and Comiso, told the local media that no one reported injuries following the incident. He also added that SAC is working together with ENAC, Italy’s aviation regulator, to reopen Terminal C, so at least a minimum number of flights takes place.
The smallest of the two, Terminal C currently only serves easyJet’s national flights.
This morning, the managers of Palermo and Trapani airports — both in Western Sicily — published a joint message in social media, where they expressed their solidarity and announced some emergency measures to absorb the incoming traffic of people.
“Today in Palermo 216 flights, among roundtrips, were already scheduled”, said Natale Chieppa, general director of the airport’s management company, Gesap. “But I believe that we will easily get to and surpass 230”.
https://www.facebook.com/aeroportodipalermo/videos/948332823111594/
Such increases will also be the case in Trapani, as the airport’s Facebook page announced.
The fire happened after a day of disruptions, on Saturday, caused by a national strike of handling workers.
Beyond the impact on tourism during the peak Summer season, the inconveniences caused by the fire are relevant for “fuori sede” Italians who live in the mainland but take the Summer break to visit their families in Sicily. For these people, the plane is the most convenient option, as the only other way to get to the island is by ferry.
