American tourist stranded after volcano eruption sparks mass flight cancellations

Julie Sagoskin, shown above, faced a recent travel nightmare in Sicily after Mount Etna erupted.(Julie Sagoskin;Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images)

Sagoskin’s group knewvolcanic activity was affecting travel.Friends who had planned to fly out two days earlier had their flight canceled and returned to stay with the group, she said.

Sagoskin hoped conditions would improve by her scheduled departure.

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Instead, she found herself weighing whether to wait for flights to resume or find another way off the island.

“You’re in a foreign country, first of all,” Sagoskin said.“It’s obviously a big … natural disaster.So there’s nothing anybody can do about this.”

The cancellation came amidwidespread disruption at Catania’s airport.Between Aug.6 and Aug.12, more than a third of the 1,974 scheduled flights were canceled, Reuters reported.

The disruption affected thousands of travelers during the busy summer season, with somepassengers spending days waitingfor a way out, according to Reuters.

Sagoskin and others gathered at a hotel near the airport.Some discussed waiting another couple of days, while others began looking for flights from different cities.

Sagoskin decided to head to Rome hoping there would be more flights there.

She quickly booked a ticket for an approximately 11-hour overnight train ride from Catania to Rome as seats began filling up.

Sagoskin, pictured above in Italy, booked an approximately 11-hour overnight train from Catania to Rome as travel options quickly filled up, hoping she could catch a flight from there.(Julie Sagoskin)

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The journey brought another unexpected twist when the train was transported across the water by ferry.

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“The trip really turned into a trip upon a trip,” Sagoskin said.

The journey was made more challenging by stretches without air conditioning, she said.

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After days of uncertainty, Sagoskin said seeing that herflight from Romewasn’t delayed brought a sense of relief.

She finally flew home from Rome on Aug.11, one day after her original return date.

Mount Etna’s eruption, pictured above, affected thousands of travelers during the busy summer season.(AP Photo/Simone Genovese)

Other members of her group took different approaches.Some traveled through Palermo, while others dealt with additional flight cancellations, overnight stays and lost luggage, Sagoskin said.

“I think you have to come up with one plan and stick to it,” Sagoskin said, noting that it would be easy to second-guess her decisions afterward.

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Mount Etna’s activity was visible during the ordeal, Sagoskin said.She recalled seeing the volcano while travelingtoward the airport.

She saw ash around the hotel near the airport, including near the pool area, where guests were temporarily told to leave.

Pictured above in Italy, Sagoskin said the experience taught her the importance of being flexible when traveling.(Julie Sagoskin)

Despite the difficult journey, Sagoskin said the ordeal did not overshadow her positive experience in Sicily.

“It was memorable,” she said.“We will remember this for a lifetime.”

She said the experience reinforced the importance of staying flexible.

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“We got out safely,” Sagoskin said. 

“Things can happen in life at any time.You just have to … make decisions, be prepared and move on.”