Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, has erupted - and has been shooting lava into night sky, spewing ash all over Sicily.
The incident has resulted in hundreds of flights being cancelled or delayed.
The volcano is active and has been in an almost constant state of activity for the past decade, but things had been "relatively calm" for months ahead of last night.
The eruption took place on Sunday, November 12, with the volcano spewing ash high over the island. According to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, “the height of the eruptive column is estimated to be about 4500m above sea level”.
The nearest airport - Catania - initially remained open despite the volcano’s activity and ash precipitation but then was shut as things got worse.
The airport last had to be shut in August due to an ash cloud from an Etna eruption.
Thousands of travellers hoping to fly to or from Catania in Sicily are now facing delays, with flights not expected to take off or land from the airport until 8pm local time on Monday.
Flights were originally delayed until 1pm local time but the airport extended the disruption due to the fallout of volcanic ash.
Is it safe to travel to Sicily?
The Foreign Office aims to inform British nationals so they can make decisions about travelling abroad, and at the present there is no advice that has changed about travelling to Italy, or specifically Sicily.
There are no warnings on the Foreign Office official page for Italy. But should the Foreign Office change its advice, flights would be halted.
Has the airport closed down?
The airport has not been closed, but flights were temporarily stopped due to the eruption.
Around 200 flights to and from Sicily were disrupted from Sunday evening after the eruption of Mount Etna forced nearby Catania airport to close.
Flight operations were suspended until 6am on Tuesday at the airport
Originally, flights were delayed until 8pm local time on Monday, but the airport extended the delay due to the fallout of volcanic ash.
Catania Airport is now back open, but passengers have been told to expect further disruption.
