Through January 2011 to February 2012, the summit craters of Etna were the site of intense activity. Frequent eruptions and ash columns forced the authorities to shut down the Catania airport on several occasions. [19][20][21][22][23][24] The July 2011 episode also endangered the Sapienza Refuge, the main tourist hub on the volcano, but the lava flow was successfully diverted.[25] In 2014, a flank eruption started involving lava flows and strombolian eruptions. This was the first flank eruption since 2008-09[1]