Italy's Mount Etna has come back to life with a brief eruption that forced the overnight closure of two nearby airports.

The volcanology institute in Catania, eastern Sicily, said that a two-hour eruption in the early hours of Thursday sent a stream of lava down the eastern slope of the mountain. Nobody was injured.

The volcano also spewed out ash, which forced Catania's Fontanarossa and another local airport to shut down, cancelling or diverting a few domestic flights.

The disruption was not too severe however, the airports were able to re-open early on Thursday morning.

Mount Etna is Europe's most active volcano. However, this is the first time it has erupted since 1992.