Aeroporto di Catania - Sicilia Reviews 

Avoid this airport if possible. Flights are constantly cancelled due to Mount Etna. Flights are delayed and cancelled without communication or contingency plans. It is very unorganized and chaotic and filthy. No air conditioning, dirty toilets, no seating, chaotic queues, no drinking water, no charging points, no internet, basically everything you expect from an airport is none existence. Staff is overworked, dismissive and not helpful.

However, all these problems many caused by Mount Etna eruptions can be managed and mitigated with proper management and leadership. Mount Etna constantly causes problems yet no one takes the time to think about how to deal with. The knock on effect is that staff are overworked, thousands of stranded passengers using the facilities with not enough staff and time to keep it clean. Proper communication to all airlines regarding disruptions, etc,etc but none of this is being thought about or resolved.
So avoid this airport. There are other airports to use in Sicily. We were stuck for 3 days would've been 4 if we did not make other arrangements.

After our flight was delayed by 8 hours, absolutely nothing was arranged—it’s beyond pathetic; they are terrible. The staff at the counter are unfriendly; they are mean and talk about you behind your back in Italian if you don't speak the language—we actually caught them doing it because one of our family members understands Italian. If you ask for assistance, they do nothing about it—no care or support whatsoever

Booking reference: PRSIWB
Flights: Sofia (SOF) – Catania (CTA) and return
We are three deaf passengers travelling together.
On the outbound flight from Sofia our small cabin bag (which fully complies with the 40x30x20 cm rule) was checked and accepted without any problem by Ryanair staff.
On the return flight from Catania the situation completely changed. A young female staff member was aggressive, refused to measure the bag correctly, and insisted on charging us a fine. She showed zero patience and made communication almost impossible because we are deaf.
Instead of helping, she treated us like we were trying to cheat the system. We felt threatened and harassed just before boarding.
This is unacceptable. Ryanair cannot apply different rules at different airports and then ignore the fact that they are dealing with deaf passengers.
We have already filed a formal complaint and will escalate it further.
Do not fly Ryanair if you have any disability or simply expect basic respect.

Please do not remove or hide it. This is my honest feedback about what happened and I want it to stay visible.

Plane delayed, gate changed, multiple planes delayed, restroom is a wasteful pos and horrible airport. Not a lot of places to sit at as well. Horrible unhelpful staff who pretend not to speak english just to avoid you. Location is also horrible

The worst airport I have ever been to in my life. It was overcrowded to the point where I couldn’t even find a seat at the food places, as there were so few of them, and I couldn’t find anywhere to charge my phone. When I asked a worker where I could charge it, I got a dismissive answer: ‘no charge.’

On top of that, the airport doesn’t even have proper passport scanners - none of them were working. I had to go through a physical person instead and wait in a massive, exhausting line, as the airport is severely understaffed as well.

Shocking experience at this airport. Closed for several days because of Etna eruptions which happen regularly and you should fully expect to disrupt your travel. Stuck in Sicily for several days because of this and airport / airlines all acting like it has never happened before and have no contingency plans even though the airport is shut regularly because of this. If your time is important to you and you ever need to fly when actually booked don’t use this airport or come to this part of Sicily.

Horrible airport.
Unclean toilets, broken toilet seats, staff that look like they would rather ride an alligator than help you.
Small, broken, inadequate.

Dirtiest toilets ever, pis on the floor, walls and toilet seats. Toilet paper everywhere.

Provide free drinking water to fill reusable bottles as other european airports do instead of adding to plastic waste selling bottled water.

Terminal 1: Missing Senats/benchs In the departure hall. A few benchs are Outside or you can sit on the rubble for demolition!!!
There are too few seats in the departure hall as well. There are few restaurants and cafés with seating. The restrooms are old and worn out.

After 40 years of air travel this is without question the worst airport we have ever seen
Staff are rude aggressive and have no idea what they are doing.
The new fingerprint system is useless but they haven’t a clue how to work it.
I love Sicily but would never return purely due to this terrible airport

Catania Airport is less of an airport and more of a social club for staff who occasionally allow passengers to pass through. There seemed to be plenty of staff around, mainly standing in groups chatting, although actual passenger assistance appeared to be a more optional activity.

Check-in only opening two hours before the flight added a fun element of jeopardy to the experience. Nothing says “relaxing end to a holiday” quite like wondering whether you will make it through the airport in time.

Passport control was a nightmare, slow, crowded, and stressful.

Once through, the facilities did not exactly improve. There were very few seats, no water fountain, and the general atmosphere was somewhere between a holding pen and a prison waiting room.

Overall, Catania Airport is an experience. Not a good one, but definitely an experience. I would recommend arriving prepared, hydrated, and emotionally resilient.

The airport passport control officer behaved in a racist and unprofessional manner. He made inappropriate comments about the country where I was born, even though I hold an Italian passport by blood right through my grandmother, simply because my surname is not Italian. His behaviour made me feel like a second‑class citizen. I believe the airport should review the standards and training of the staff they hire, to ensure they do not harm people’s dignity or negatively impact tourism. Individuals who demonstrate such unprofessional conduct should be reassigned to roles that do not involve direct interaction with international travellers.

In the departure hall practically no seat at all!
If you arrive,a,little earlier you have necessarily to sit at McDonalds or the other bar. Or in the only one bench outside in the open.
Unbelievably no seat!

Basically queue from the moment you arrive to the time you board,in excess of 2.5 hours! No organisation and no time to sit,refresh,comfort break or eat or shop ,a horrendous experience which has put us off ever returning to Sicily. Never again.

Without a doubt, the worst airport I’ve ever used and I really mean that. Took us hours to get through the queue to check in our hold luggage because the attendants thought it necessary to move in utter slow motion with no consideration for the queue or our needs to get through security in order to eat something and board our flight. When we finally got through security, we realised the advertised McDonald’s (which after ten days of eating Parma ham sandwiches and pizzas) - was only available before security. Who wants to eat dinner before their flight - before security? What a joke. The only food thus available inside was guess what? Parma ham paninis and pizzas. FOUR food shops selling the same thing. Not a single restaurant or decicated place to sit down. Also the gates are confusing and passengers from two flights were in disarray as there was no clear indication of where to clue. A bunch of chimps could run an airport better. disgrace

Tourists, be aware when leaving Catania!

Apparently at the airport, staff have strong interests in opening all your luggages and keeping your belongings despite they are allowed to be boarded.
Probably they don’t earn much.

Be safe!

An unimaginable nightmare.
The Jet2 ground staff are pathetic !
After a delay on our flight last Saturday back to Birmingham, there was mis information, confusion and downright lies from Jet2 personnel.
With the exception of Elio, who was at least human and faced up to the issues where his colleagues h as absconded, the night descended into chaos with the scrambling of busses to far away hotels for the night.
A fact that there were children and elderly passengers on board seemed to escape the view from other jet2 ground staff.
The next day rescheduled flight could not have come soon enough.
Don’t travel with Jet2 and DEFINITELY don’t go to Catania !!

Baffling to see this is still classed as an airport and not commended as the laughably kafka-esque performance piece it is, with an almost artistic level of halfassery and apathy demonstrated by the staff.
Our flight (Jet2*nowhere*) operated by a third party arrived at 11:35pm, and, whilst we were awaiting any information as to whether we were actually going to get back to the UK that night, it transpired that our hopes were cut much shorter, as the runway closes at 12 midnight, assumedly for Italian reasons. We were boarded none the less at 21:50, and stood on the gangway for 2hrs until commons sense overtook us and we realised the airport crew were fecklessly inept and deboarded ourselves, to the irritation of the 13yr old chap seemingly running the Sicilian operations of Jet2 with the cautious precision of a hammer welding chimp in a china shop.
This began a further 3hr ordeal, running after airport rep after airport rep, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland (although heavy hallucinogenics would have made the experience atleast somewhat interesting and comprehensible) all the while requests for information on the next step in the process were ignored, laughed or shrugged off as "Not their issue".
Again, collective sense prevailed when, as we were given our local hotel booking and information on bus transfer after waiting a further 3hrs in a dimly-lit-now-closed airport front terminal, the Titanic-like approach to organising priority of transferees became something of a dystopian scene from the exodus of a failing state, atleast Titanic crew were trained to a minimum standard and had the sense to let the frail and children board refuge first (we had 2 of the group 75+ and diabetic, having not eaten for 4hrs). Again, Catania staff were predictably indifferent and willfully ignorant of this, possibly because every passenger needing medical transfer, would be one less hassle for their overworked Saturday night.
The hotel actually existed (to the shock of all on the bus), the rooms and staff were pleasant and the breakfast welcomed, however, not a decent espresso in sight, but that's a small critique in this
So here we are. A day late, 600miles from destination and waiting a repeat of yesterday.
One recommendation: Fly to Palermo and book a transfer, or avoid Jet2 AT ALL COSTS.

I felt comfortable and welcomed at Catania airport, it is very big and the staff is kind and helpful. Thank you for the wonderful holiday