Montenegrins stranded again in Catania: about 10 spent the night at the airport, Rome embassy unresponsive

CATANIA – Around ten citizens of Montenegro spent last night at Catania airport after flights were suspended due to volcanic ash spewed into the atmosphere by Etna. As Vijesti reports, citing one of its readers in Sicily, around 15 Montenegrin citizens are currently on the island in total.

According to Vijesti, they have been trying since yesterday to contact the Montenegrin embassy in Rome, without success – they sent an e-mail and received no reply. “We contacted the consulate in Bari, where a staff member directed us to the embassy in Rome. They at least showed interest and later called us to ask whether we had managed to find a solution for the return,” the witness is quoted as saying by Vijesti.

Four of them finally managed to secure tickets for a Naples–Tirana flight, from where they will continue their journey to Montenegro. Vijesti reports that the Wizz Air Catania–Podgorica flight was cancelled last night at 21:20, while the suspension of flights from Catania airport also applies today, until midnight. Passengers are advised to check flight status with the airlines before heading to the airport.

Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano, often causes disruptions to Catania’s air traffic; as Vijesti writes, volcanic ash emissions were particularly intense this summer. The incident is a repeat: in mid-August Montenegrin citizens were also stranded in Catania for the same reason, and at that time the government provided them transport to another airport, from where they continued their journey to Montenegro.

Vijesti announced that its newsroom has also informed the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the problem of the Montenegrin citizens.