Operations at Catania airport are likely to be constrained for several days after a fire at Terminal A forced a reduction in services.
Terminal A is likely to remain closed for another five days, following the fire on the evening of 16 July, according to Italian civil aviation regulator ENAC.
The number of departing flights has been restricted to two per hour – although this is being gradually increased to four.
ENAC and airport operator SAC state that a temporary structure is being built at Terminal C to increase passenger capacity and enable a further hike in the hourly departure rate to seven.
NOTAM information for Catania says that traffic is subject to “flow restrictions” owing to the “unavailability” of the passenger terminal, with a four-per-hour limit on scheduled flight arrivals.
Shuttle services have been implemented to ferry passengers to alternative Sicilian airports including Palermo, Trapani and Comiso.
The increased traffic at Palermo has concerned the airport’s management company, GESAP, which points out that there is a risk to service quality – particularly because Palermo was already having to cope with strong demand.
“This emergency requires extra work and responsibility from everyone,” says GESAP managing director Vito Riggio.
