MILAN, Aug 15 - Sicily's Catania airport has restarted flights, it said on Saturday, after authorities downgraded to orange from red the aviation alert colour of Mount Etna's recent volcanic activity.

Ash from Etna's eruptions have forced the Sicilian airport to cancel or reroute hundreds of flights over the last week.

The airport, Italy's fifth-busiest hub by passenger traffic, said on Friday it was suspending all flights until 1300 GMT on August 15.

However, in an update published on its website, it said it had restarted departing and incoming flights from 1200 GMT following the volcanic alert downgrade. REUTERS