Tour guides at Sicily’s Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, have launched a rare strike in protest against stringent new safety restrictions imposed after recent eruptions. Dozens of guides demonstrated on Wednesday at the volcano’s lava flow gate, arguing that the measures are excessive and undermine their professional role.
The new rules, adopted after Mount Etna began erupting on Christmas Eve, limit excursions to daylight hours only and require groups to stay at least 200 metres from the lava flow. A previously existing cap of ten people per group is now being vigorously enforced, including with surveillance drones. The guides’ regional board said the restrictions effectively nullify their skills, function and professional responsibility.
The lava flow, which reached 1,360 metres above sea level before entering a cooling phase, poses no danger to nearby residential areas, according to volcanologists. Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology confirmed the eruption is ongoing but noted the lava fronts are cooling and not advancing further. “This is a lava flow that is descending very slowly on an area that is now also flat or semi-flat,” said Dario Teri, a member of Sicily’s alpine and volcano guides association who took part in the protest.
Tourists have been left disappointed by the cancellations. Claudia Mancini, a 32-year-old visitor from Palermo, said she came for an excursion but received the bad news that all activity was cancelled. “It is not making anyone happy,” she added. The guides are expected to continue their strike in the coming days, hoping to reach a compromise with authorities that balances safety with the viability of their profession.
