Volcanic ash halts many trans-Atlantic flights
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/business_breaking/20100415_Volcanic_ash_halts_some_trans-Atlantic_flights.html
All five major airports in London have been shut down including Heathrow, a major trans-Atlantic hub that handles over 1,200 flights and 180,000 passengers per day.
French officials shut down all flights to Paris and 23 other airports. In addition, airspace was closed over Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands, said Kyla Evans, spokeswoman for the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
14 years
Yeah, bommer. We have quite a few no-shows. And guests who got stuck here because their return flight was cancelled.
There was a Brit on Austrian TV today, they interviewed him because he was one of those who got stranded on Vienna´s airport. He said: "I´m an Iceland victim the third time now. First Björk, then their banks and now their volcano". :D
14 years
There was a Brit on Austrian TV today, they interviewed him because he was one of those who got stranded on Vienna´s airport. He said: "I´m an Iceland victim the third time now. First Björk, then their banks and now their volcano". :D
Haha that's brilliant.
I watched the 2012 movie on Monday (it was a pile of crap), however since then there's been this eruption in Iceland, an earthquake in China and of course Haiti back in January......
14 years
14 years
Chaos could last for months:
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/Volcano-ash-causes-travel-disruption-across-Europe/
Is anyone considering worst-case scenarios? Do you think flights could be canceled for a longer period of time?
14 years
Not yet. There is not much we could do anyway.
The airlines make lots of pressure on the politicians now. Lufthansa and Airberlin insist flying is not dangerous and make test flights with empty machines to prove their point. It seems they rather send their passengers to death than losing more money. :rolleyes:
14 years
Yes and yes.
This is the biggest disaster to hit international travel. It dwarfs 9-11.
The nearest thing to good news: Some airlines are trying out some flights over the Atlantic (presumably into the edge of the dust cloud) to see what effect it has.
I wonder if there has been an over-reaction by the authorities. It reminds me of the reaction to foot-and-mouth disease: every footpath in England was closed, even those totally within built-up areas and not going near animals!
Airlines and airports are wondering whether the risk deserves SUCH A serious response. The dust is dangerous to aircraft, but is there as much dust as is feared, or is it just at certain levels.
It's another example of the danger of global commercialism -- if one thing goes wrong, a whole sector of life can collapse. Thank goodness ferries have not gone out of business. There should be much more emphasis on growing food, manufacturing etc in one's own country. At least the Internet has enabled us to keep in touch with other countries, even if we can't physically travel to them.
Hostels: Start focusing your marketing on travellers in your own or next-door countries!
14 years
Hostels: Start focusing your marketing on travellers in your own or next-door countries!
My speech.
The problem is: there is not much experience with this sort of thing. There was an almost-crash of a plane which got into an ash cloud over Indonesia 20 years ago. All four engines failed at the same time, so it´s obviously extremely dangerous.
Of course, there is a difference between flying through ash very close to the volcano where you´ll have lots of particles and flying over Germany, which is thousands of km away, but who knows exactly how much ash is still safe?
It´s better to be safe than sorry.
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