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28 July 2023
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Large wildfires shut down Falcone Borsellino Airport in Sicily, Italy
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Palermo’s international airport, Falcone Borsellino Airport in Sicily, Italy, was shut down overnight as fires burned around its perimeter in the early hours of Tuesday morning, 25 July 2023.
The fire broke out on Monday evening above the town of Cinisi with fire fighters battling to contain it throughout the night. Fire fighters tackled the wildfire close to the airport and local rail and road traffic was also disrupted.
The airport, which serves the island’s capital, published a tweet stating that a limited number of outbound flights were being permitted to leave. A plane from the Italian city of Turin had also been able to land.
Later, the airport confirmed it was operative for departing flights but inbound services were will dependent on weather conditions.
There have been a number of power cuts and water supply issues on the island in recent days, which local officials have blamed partly on the heatwave.
The island's main airport of Catania was closed last week due to a fire in a terminal building and has reopened only for a few flights.
The wildfire is one of several on the island of Sicily and has spread due to windy conditions.
Sicily wildfires: 'People cannot breathe'
According to local media reports, fire fighters have succeeded in extinguishing large areas of the wildfires but some are still raging including around the cities of Palermo, Catania and Messina.
Three people have died. The charred bodies of an elderly couple were found in their home near Palermo while a woman is reported to have died after an ambulance was prevented by the fire from reaching her house.
The 15th-Century church of Santa Maria di Gesù in Palermo has been reduced to rubble by the flames.
Sicily's president Renato Schifani said the fire had made Tuesday "one of the most difficult days in decades".
Authorities are already estimating that the wildfires have caused €260 million of damage.
Italy has been severely impacted by the heatwave across southern Europe and 16 of its cities are on red alert, including Palermo and Catania on Sicily. Southern Italy has been sweltering through weeks of extreme heat. On Monday, 24 July 2023, temperatures in Palermo reached a record 47 degrees Celsius.
Sources: Vigili del Fuoco, Euro News, BBC News
The fire broke out on Monday evening above the town of Cinisi with fire fighters battling to contain it throughout the night. Fire fighters tackled the wildfire close to the airport and local rail and road traffic was also disrupted.
The airport, which serves the island’s capital, published a tweet stating that a limited number of outbound flights were being permitted to leave. A plane from the Italian city of Turin had also been able to land.
Later, the airport confirmed it was operative for departing flights but inbound services were will dependent on weather conditions.
There have been a number of power cuts and water supply issues on the island in recent days, which local officials have blamed partly on the heatwave.
The island's main airport of Catania was closed last week due to a fire in a terminal building and has reopened only for a few flights.
The wildfire is one of several on the island of Sicily and has spread due to windy conditions.
Sicily wildfires: 'People cannot breathe'
According to local media reports, fire fighters have succeeded in extinguishing large areas of the wildfires but some are still raging including around the cities of Palermo, Catania and Messina.
Three people have died. The charred bodies of an elderly couple were found in their home near Palermo while a woman is reported to have died after an ambulance was prevented by the fire from reaching her house.
The 15th-Century church of Santa Maria di Gesù in Palermo has been reduced to rubble by the flames.
Sicily's president Renato Schifani said the fire had made Tuesday "one of the most difficult days in decades".
Authorities are already estimating that the wildfires have caused €260 million of damage.
Italy has been severely impacted by the heatwave across southern Europe and 16 of its cities are on red alert, including Palermo and Catania on Sicily. Southern Italy has been sweltering through weeks of extreme heat. On Monday, 24 July 2023, temperatures in Palermo reached a record 47 degrees Celsius.
Sources: Vigili del Fuoco, Euro News, BBC News
