Etna volcanic ash halts flights at Italy's Catania airport

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ROME (Reuters) -Flights serving the eastern Sicilian city of Catania were halted for much of the day on Tuesday after an eruption from nearby Mount Etna, the airport operator said, bringing fresh travel woe during the peak summer tourist season.

Airport operations will be suspended until 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), said SAC, the management company at the Catania-Fontanarossa airport.

The clean-up operations began at the first sign that the showers of ash were ending, while clean-up operations of contaminated aircraft were also under way.

Etna, one of the world's most active volcanoes, has seen intense activity in recent days, spewing hot ash and lava.

The airport of Catania had already been closed earlier this month due to ash in the sky. It acts as a hub for the east of Sicily and attracts more arrivals than the capital Palermo.

The airline operator had earlier warned that the suspension of flights on Tuesday would cause cancellations or the rerouting of traffic to other airports.

(Reporting by Marta Di DonfrancescoEditing by Keith Weir)