Sicily on fire | Mumsnet

Original poster

PistachioGelato · 26/07/2023 17:05

It looks fairly terrifying.
But unless foreign office advise against travel, we can't claim back on insurance. What to do re: holiday next week???

OP posts:

Georgyporky · 26/07/2023 17:23

It's a huge island. What airport are you flying to?

MissAmbrosia · 26/07/2023 20:36

We're going in September and I'm on some FB groups. It seems to have calmed down a lot today and the weather is forecast to be cooler. Not sure what is happening with Catania airport though.

WeAreTheHeroes · 26/07/2023 20:37

Honestly OP, do a bit of basic research before you start a thread with a title like this.

Original poster

PistachioGelato · 26/07/2023 21:17

WeAreTheHeroes · 26/07/2023 20:37

Honestly OP, do a bit of basic research before you start a thread with a title like this.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66302472

OP posts:

notimagain · 26/07/2023 21:21

Not sure what is happening with Catania airport though.

As I understand it:

Fire in one of the terminal buildings last week which caused problems for a few days.

There were some brush fires adjacent to the perimeter yesterday or day before I think ( not great but not unheard occasionally at a few airports around the world at times).

AFAIK it was open for business as normal today.....the likes of TUI, Wizzair and Ryanair etc operating in and out.

As far as temperatures goes, yep it was definitely hot at the airport yesterday, with the max reported being 45 Celsius but today the maximum reported was 34 Celsius.

HTH.

Deathbyfluffy · 26/07/2023 21:24

PistachioGelato · 26/07/2023 21:17

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66302472

Show quote history

The whole place isn't on fire, and flights are operating as usual.

notimagain · 26/07/2023 21:44

Having written my pp I can see from the airport arr/dep boards that if they are correct there does seem to be an issue with movements, especially this evening/overnight..as in nil.. - no obvious reason why that I can see ATM.

..The weather itself is certainly OK (sky clear good visibility)

notimagain · 26/07/2023 21:52

..And finally....it looks like they're still recovering from the terminal fire, so there are flights in/out (some TUI Wizz etc) but there also cancellations due to continued capacity restrictions that the authorities hope to be able to relax..

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/07/26/major-italian-holiday-destination-suspends-all-departing-flights-until-wednesday

Catania airport: Advice for travellers as airport stays closed until Tuesday

'Chaos': Sicily airports struggle to cope with increased demand

No flights to or from the UK and Ireland will land at Catania airport until 26 July.

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/07/26/major-italian-holiday-destination-suspends-all-departing-flights-until-wednesday

Original poster

PistachioGelato · 27/07/2023 07:16

It looks like there have been fires all over this last week with temps of up to 47.

Hopefully things will calm down this weekend as the temp drops 🤞

OP posts:

Waterfall16 · 27/07/2023 07:40

Hi
We are due to fly to Crete travelling into Chania and then staying in Heraklion.
Our travel operator is contacting us to let us know the situation; but I wondered whether anyone is travelling shortly and cancelling due to the wildfires. I know Crete has been put on an extreme risk alert.
Appreciate your feedback including anyone currently staying there.
Thanks

YukoandHiro · 27/07/2023 07:42

Waterfall16 · 27/07/2023 07:40

Hi
We are due to fly to Crete travelling into Chania and then staying in Heraklion.
Our travel operator is contacting us to let us know the situation; but I wondered whether anyone is travelling shortly and cancelling due to the wildfires. I know Crete has been put on an extreme risk alert.
Appreciate your feedback including anyone currently staying there.
Thanks

Honestly I wouldn't go

Oriunda · 27/07/2023 12:13

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/sicily-catania-airport-flights-brexit-b2382729.html

Where are you flying into? Catania Airport currently closed to non EU passengers. In addition, some areas of Catania have been without water/elec for >48 hours due to cables melting. Simon Calder is a good follow.

I'm in southern Italy and the weather has now turned. Much cooler, but strong winds which aren't great if any more fires start.

Thousands of Britons unable to fly into Sicily due to post-Brexit passport checks

As many as 50,000 British holidaymakers have been affected since Catania airport closed on 16 July

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/sicily-catania-airport-flights-brexit-b2382729.html

notimagain · 27/07/2023 12:42

It's an unusual situation that's for sure, as the article implies it's border control that's the problem.

Wizz, Ryanair and others are operating a few flights into/out of Catania again today, to and from places such as Venice and Rome, but the only two UK originating flights have been Ryanair into Trapani from Luton and Manchester.

ChampagneIceCream · 28/07/2023 09:28

Thanks again Brexit! 🤬

Bubbles254 · 29/07/2023 06:47

YukoandHiro · 27/07/2023 07:42

Honestly I wouldn't go

Show quote history

We are on the W coast of Crete ATM and it is absolutely fine. No fires and the temperatures are now much cooler with a max of 32 degrees during the day and a pleasant breeze. We even had some clouds and sea fog yesterday.

StefanosHill · 29/07/2023 06:51

Which part are you going to op?

Waterfall16 · 29/07/2023 10:03

Yes we are in Crete and there is a nice breeze. Perfect.

TrishTrix · 29/07/2023 11:50

Just come back from Sicily. Travel was a nightmare. Catania airport is shut to non Schengen airports.
palermo is in a strop so only accepting limited additional flights.
Trapani and Comiso airports are hard to get to.

the water and power in Catania were dodgy. My hotel room got to 29degrees with air con on due to intermittent power.

if you get a cancel option I would do it. This whole extravaganza has cost me around £500 in additional costs and i’m not clear my airline or travel insurance are going to cover it.

Original poster

PistachioGelato · 30/07/2023 08:09

StefanosHill · 29/07/2023 06:51

Which part are you going to op?

Flying to Catania this week, (supposedly!) but heading up to the mountains immediately above Taormina. So rental car is booked for Catantia...

It looks like temperatures have cooled, it's just the airport issue facing us.

The ever helpful Ryan Air haven't been able to tell me anything.

Am fully expecting to find out once we get to the airport at the crack of dawn 🙄

OP posts:

FanFckingTastic · 30/07/2023 08:22

We are in Sicily at the moment - arrived 9 days ago and due to fly home tomorrow. We are staying just North of Catania. Flight coming out was cancelled just 24 hours before it was due to take off (thanks EasyJet!) but we managed to do a quick re-book to fly to Paris and then onwards… this flight was then subsequently re-routed to Comiso. We managed to book a taxi transfer from Comiso to Catania and it was fine. There looked to be coaches laid on too but with three kids we thought that a taxi was the easiest option for us.

We’ve now had confirmation that our homeward flight has also been diverted out of Comiso so are going to do the same process in reverse tomorrow!

The weather is now much cooler (it’s still hot but not as boiling as it was when we arrived) and fires that were more local to us seem to be under control - the waterbomber planes and helicopters were working hard! We spoke to some locals and they didn’t seem overly worried so I suspect that this is a fairly normal part of life for them.

Sicily is a beautiful place and I’m sure that anyone on their way out here will have a lovely time. Just expect that plans may change slightly!

Original poster

PistachioGelato · 30/07/2023 18:45

FanFckingTastic · 30/07/2023 08:22

We are in Sicily at the moment - arrived 9 days ago and due to fly home tomorrow. We are staying just North of Catania. Flight coming out was cancelled just 24 hours before it was due to take off (thanks EasyJet!) but we managed to do a quick re-book to fly to Paris and then onwards… this flight was then subsequently re-routed to Comiso. We managed to book a taxi transfer from Comiso to Catania and it was fine. There looked to be coaches laid on too but with three kids we thought that a taxi was the easiest option for us.

We’ve now had confirmation that our homeward flight has also been diverted out of Comiso so are going to do the same process in reverse tomorrow!

The weather is now much cooler (it’s still hot but not as boiling as it was when we arrived) and fires that were more local to us seem to be under control - the waterbomber planes and helicopters were working hard! We spoke to some locals and they didn’t seem overly worried so I suspect that this is a fairly normal part of life for them.

Sicily is a beautiful place and I’m sure that anyone on their way out here will have a lovely time. Just expect that plans may change slightly!

Thanks for that, very reassuring.
Did you rebook your initial flights there & then at the airport?

OP posts:

FanFckingTastic · 30/07/2023 21:19

No - we were sent an email that our flight was cancelled 24 hrs before it was due to depart the Uk. Luckily we were all off work / school so we’re able to book a last minute replacement flight via Paris. Not ideal but better than losing our money as our Villa had no cancellation option. Our diversion email for tomorrow’s flight came through just over 24 hours before too, so you should know what’s going on before you get to the airport. Fingers crossed for you!

tonystarksrighthand · 31/07/2023 04:56

@YukoandHiro and @Waterfall16

We are in Crete, flew to Chania and are in Heraklion.

No delays when we departed and arrived. Temp around 29/30.

No issues at all.