Updated 6.53pm with the reopening of Catania airport.

Flights between Malta and the Sicilian city of Catania were cancelled or diverted after Mount Etna erupted for the second time in a month. 

The 3,300 metre volcano burst into action early on Tuesday morning, firing a eight kilometre column of ash into the area over the island. 

Three flights have been impacted between Catania and Malta International Airport, it said. 

Flight FR367 from Malta to Catania at 1.35 pm, departed to Trapani instead, and passengers had to travel by coach from Trapani to Catania. The return flight from Catania, FR368, was cancelled.

Another flight, FR1565, was due to travel from Vienna to Catania but was instead rerouted to Malta, landing at 11.07am. The flight then departed Malta at 1.10pm, en route to Palermo.

"We’re still getting updates as the situation progresses," the spokesperson said.

This was the second time this month, that Mount Etna's eruption impacted flights to and from Catania.

"Due to eruptions and ash emissions, it has been decided to suspend flight operations," Catania airport operator wrote on X, inviting passengers to contact their airline for flight information.

Catania airport reopens after Etna eruption     

Catania airport reopened late Tuesday afternoon after suspending all flights because of the eruption.

"Due to the decrease in volcanic activity, flight operations will resume," the airport operator wrote on X.

Departures resumed from 6pm, while four arrivals per hour would be allowed from 8pm), it said.

All flights would resume from 10pm, it added.

The airport had suspended all flights earlier Tuesday "due to eruptions and ash emissions". 

The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the ash column had reached an altitude of eight kilometres (five miles). 

At 3,324 metres (nearly 11,000 feet), Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe and has erupted frequently in the past 500,000 years.

Catania airport was last closed on July 5 due to an eruption.