JET2 has been forced to cancel flights to a holiday hotspot between now and the beginning of August.
Millions of Brits are preparing to get away on their summer holidays as schools get ready to break up this week.
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However, a fire at Catania airport in Italy has forced several airlines to scrap or divert flights, with journeys to and from the UK affected more than flights to and from most European countries.
Catania’s Vincenzo Bellini Airport has both inbound and outbound flights to a total of 91 destinations and 100,000s passengers are expected to be hit by the cancellations altogether.
The disruption is the result of a fire that broke out on in Terminal A on Sunday night, in which no one was injured and the cause of which remains unknown.
The Sicilian airport was scheduled to reopen earlier this week, but that has since been pushed back to July 24.
Meanwhile, flights are either being scrapped or diverted to other airports nearby, which in turn are now struggling to keep up with the rise in air traffic.
Once the airport reopens, it will still have limited access, with only four flights permitted to land per hour until July 26.
However, those flights will only be domestic or Schengen zone flights, with routes from non-Schengen countries, which includes the UK, also not permitted to land until July 26.
That will also include flights from Ireland and the USA.
As a result Jet2 have announced that they are cancelling all flights to and from the airport until August 3.
In response to a passenger asking if their flight had been cancelled, they tweeted: “We can confirm that unfortunately, due to a fire at Catania Airport, we have had to cancel all flights to/from Catania between 20 Jul and 3 Aug 2023.
“We will now process a refund for your holiday.”
Jet2 offers flights to Catania from London Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds Bradford.
Sun Online Travel has contacted the airline for comment.
Other airlines are affected too, with both Ryanair and easyJet warning passengers that their travel plans could be disrupted.
Ryanair said in a statement: “As result of a fire that occurred at Catania airport on Sunday 16th July, Ryanair has currently rescheduled a number of flights to and from Palermo and Trapani airports and passengers have been notified of these changes by Email and SMS.
“All passengers who have been affected by a cancellation have also been notified via Email and SMS of their options.”
EasyJet is running a reduced service to Catania, but said it hoped as many flights as possible would still be able to fly to other airports in the area.
They said in an update: “Following a fire that damaged part of the terminal building, Catania Airport is operating a significantly reduced schedule.
“We are hoping to operate as many flights as possible by re-routing to nearby airports.
“We will update you with any changes to our flying program as soon as they happen on flight tracker, which can be found online or via the easyJet app. Whilst outside of our control, we apologise for any inconvenience experienced as a result of this disruption.”
The UK Foreign Office has recommended passengers check the status of their flight with their airline.
They said: “Due to a fire in the airport terminal, Catania airport is operating a limited number of flights. You should contact your travel operator for details of cancelled or diverted flights.”
Meanwhile passengers make this big mistake when their plane is delayed or cancelled.
And here’s how to get refunds if your flight is grounded.
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