Whoopi Goldberg Misses 'The View,' Stranded in Sicily After Volcano Erupts

Whoopi Goldberg is catching heat for missing "The View" ... literally, 'cause an active volcano has her stranded in Sicily.

Joy Behar was holding down the fort Monday and immediately started roasting her missing co-hosts... joking they're "dropping like flies" before explaining Ana Navarro was stuck in Miami because of weather, Sara Haines was dealing with storm damage ... and Whoopi was pulling "the old volcano excuse."

Watch the video ... Whoopi sent in a dispatch from Sicily explaining Mount Etna erupted and threw a major wrench into her trip home ... closing airports and leaving her scrambling to get back to the United States.

Whoopi couldn't help but have some fun with the situation, declaring her vacation nightmare takes the cake compared to everyone else's travel troubles before delivering the ultimate excuse -- "A volcano ate my homework."

Mount Etna is one of the world's most active volcanoes ... and eruptions can disrupt flights in and out of nearby Catania when volcanic ash makes air travel unsafe.