By Euronews Travel

Published on 02/06/2025 – 16:14 GMT+2•Updated 16:20

Mount Etna, the tallest and most active volcano in Europe, erupted earlier today, sending plumes of smoke into the air.

Dramatic video footage shared on social media showed tourists fleeing down the side of the mountain as a thick volcanic cloud intensified above them.

Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (IGNV) said in a statement that the eruption began at 3:50 am local time following volcanic tremors that started at midnight. Volcanologists added that Mount Etna has been experiencing strombolian explosions of ‘growing intensity’. These explosions are typically a moderate kind of eruption.

A pyroclastic flow – an avalanche of hot rock, ash and gas – was seen on surveillance cameras at around 11:30 am local time. It was “probably produced by a collapse of material from the northern flank of the South-East Crater”, IGNV said.

This flow doesn’t appear to have crossed the edge of the Valle del Leone, a valley located at the foot of the summit craters on Mount Etna. But the explosive activity in the south-east crater has become a lava fountain, it added.

Mount Etna has a history of frequent eruptions dating back 3,000 years. It last erupted in February, sending a 3-kilometre river of lava flowing out of a crater called Bocca Nuova, meaning “new mouth”.

That eruption caused some minor disruption to travel, with parts of Catania airport closed due to reduced visibility.

Will flights be affected by the eruption and is Catania airport closed?

Catania airport stands at the foot of Mount Etna, giving departing and arriving passengers a spectacular view of the volcano.

Catania–Fontanarossa Airport, also known as Vincenzo Bellini Airport, on the island’s east coast, is Sicily’s most popular airport with international tourists.

The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Toulouse, France, which monitors aviation risks, issued a red aviation warning earlier today. This has since been downgraded to an orange warning, and Catania Airport remains fully operational.

Departures are happening as scheduled, with just a few arrivals from Rome, Milan, and Berlin delayed this afternoon.

Passengers are still advised to check the status of their flight with their airline before leaving home, as volcanic activity can change the situation rapidly. You can also find updated information on arrivals and departures on the Catania Airport website.

Can I claim compensation if my flight is disrupted?

If flights at Catania Airport are disrupted, airlines are required to offer you another flight or a refund if a flight is cancelled or delayed by more than three hours.

However, this is only when they could have prevented the disruption. In the case of a volcanic eruption, it is not their fault.

But in most cases, airlines will still endeavour to get passengers to their final destination.

It’s always wise to have travel insurance as you may be able to claim back for unexpected expenses.

Is it safe to visit Sicily while Mount Etna is erupting?

Yes, it is still safe to travel to Sicily, even when Mount Etna is erupting.

Local authorities and residents are used to dealing with Mount Etna eruptions. For the last five years, it has erupted multiple times a year, and tourism to Sicily has been on the rise.

Despite frequent eruptions, lava has not reached nearby towns since the 1800s. Etna has more than 200 craters, and when one of these does erupt, black volcanic ash lands in the city of Catania at its foot and the many surrounding towns and villages.

This is inconvenient for residents, but usually not a problem for visitors. Some people even purposefully climb the volcano to see an eruption, though authorities urge tourists to keep a safe distance.

The mayor of Catania in Corriere della Sera has said that “everything is normal and under control”.

By Euronews Travel

Published on 02/06/2025 – 14:53 GMT+2

The hugely popular Spanish island of Ibiza has started limiting the number of tourist cars and caravans that can visit.

From 1 June to 30 September, the number of vehicles used by non-residents will be capped at 20,168.

Only 16,000 of these vehicles will be allowed to be rental cars. The other 4,108 will be for tourists who want to disembark with their cars in Ibiza from the ports of Barcelona, ​​Denia, Valencia, or Palma.

To visit Ibiza with your car, you’ll need to get a permit, which costs €1 per day. You can check if you need to apply for this yourself or if the ferry company will handle it for you, and apply for the necessary permit via anew official website set up by the Consell de Ibiza.

Caravans now also need to show that they have a booking at a campsite. They’ll no longer be able to enter the island if they plan to wild camp or park at the side of the road.

Motorbikes are currently exempt from the seasonal restrictions on vehicles.

Why has Ibiza imposed restrictions on tourist vehicles?

The move is intended to tackle overtourism on the island, which has around 160,000 residents but receives more than 3 million tourists a year.

The number of cars on Ibiza’s roads has quadrupled over the last 20 years, rising from 51,000 in 2002 to 207,000 in 2022. It is hoped the new cap will help ease traffic problems and support more sustainable tourism on the island.

In a bid to tackle the rising anti-tourism sentiment, the island’s government has also imposed limits on cruise ship arrivals and cracked down on illegal short-term rentals.

Will other Balearic Islands also start restricting tourist vehicles?

Each year, the Balearic Islands attract around 19 million tourists – a pretty sizable portion of Spain’s 94 million annual visitors.

The Council of Mallorca is also looking to apply restrictions on tourist vehicles from next year. It is set to publish a draft law very soon and will likely introduce similar rules from summer 2026.

The President of the Council of Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has said a maximum number of vehicles will be set, with preference given to electric or non-polluting vehicles.

The small island of Formentera, around 20km south of Ibiza, already restricts the number of tourist vehicles during the summer months. Quad bikes, caravans and motorhomes aren’t allowed during this period.

From 1 June to 30 September, visitors, including those with their own vehicles or rental cars, need to apply for a permit on the Formentera Eco website.

The permit costs €6 per day, with a minimum amount of €30 regardless of how long you stay, for cars and €3 per day, with a minimum amount of €15, for motorbikes. Hybrid vehicles get a 50 per cent discount, while electric vehicles are exempt from the fee.

But, spanning only  19km from end to end, it is easy to explore Formentera without a car. Visitors can rent a bike or simply walk the island’s network of traffic-free rural paths and tracks.

Travellers heading to or through Switzerland this summer may find themselves unexpectedly grounded.

The country’s national airline, Swiss, has confirmed it will cancel around 1,400 flights from now through October as it confronts an ongoing shortage of pilots.

The cuts will affect multiple short-haul routes from Zurich and Geneva, including flights across Europe. Some long-haul services, such as those to Shanghai and Chicago, will also operate less frequently.

And some routes, including its summer service to Hurghada in Egypt, have been suspended entirely.

What Swiss is doing to address the shortfall

Swiss says it ‘deeply regrets’ the situation and has introduced a range of short-term fixes to address its pilot shortage. Those include a voluntary retirement deferral program, a vacation buyback scheme and encouraging part-time pilots to increase hours.

The airline is also working with its pilot union, Aeropers, to improve roster flexibility and reduce last-minute, fatigue-related absences – all measures meant to help the national carrier alleviate its need for about 70 more full-time pilots.

Swiss has promised to notify passengers of changes as early as possible. Affected travellers will be rebooked on flights with Swiss, the Lufthansa Group, other carriers in the Star Alliance network or – in the worst-case scenario – any other available airline.

Passengers can also rebook or request a full refund.

Could this be Europe’s summer of cancellations?

Swiss is not the only airline facing turbulence. Carriers across Europe are trimming schedules and forming contingency plans to cope with a mounting shortage of cockpit crew.

KLM has publicly acknowledged difficulties staffing long-haul flights this summer, even though it claims to have more pilots than ever on its roster.

“Sick leave and part-time work have increased in recent years. We lose around 50 full-time jobs a year due to all the part-time work,” Eimerd Bult, head of KLM’s flight service, said last September, as reported by Dutch newspaper the Telegraaf.

Air France pilots are temporarily operating KLM flights on certain routes, including Amsterdam to New York, from July until October this year.

British Airways and easyJet, meanwhile, are aggressively recruiting new staff, battling one another with competitive perks to poach from their rivals and lure back retired pilots.

British Airways, for example, has offered to foot the bill for pilot training – which can cost as much as €100,000 – for up to 60 prospects per year.

This comes after the airline suspended several short-haul routes this summer, including flights from London Gatwick to Santorini and Mykonos, and select routes from Heathrow to Greece and Croatia.

Why are there so few pilots?

The pandemic paused new pilot training and accelerated retirements, a one-two punch the industry has yet to recover from. In the US alone, the FAA projects about 4,300 pilot retirements each year through 2042.

Europe faces a similar crunch. Although some airlines previously had long waiting lists for pilot slots, today they’re easing language and nationality requirements to widen the pool.

The problem isn’t just retirement, though. It’s the pipeline.

Boeing’s long-term outlook estimates that the world will need 674,000 new pilots over the next two decades. By 2032, consulting firm Oliver Wyman says the sector could lack nearly 80,000 pilots globally.

Europe alone could be 19,000 pilots short of demand.

What does this mean for summer flyers?

Travellers with short-haul bookings, especially those involving connections, should brace for disruption as European carriers thin their summer schedules.

Experts caution that these tighter schedules may result in fewer direct flights, longer layovers and more competition for seats. Travellers are advised to book early, allow extra time for transfers and monitor airline notifications closely.

Though rebooking and refund policies are in place, securing the best alternative could come down to how fast you move.