We're due to fly to Cyprus on Sunday, and now we learn that all UK airports are closed due to a cloud of volcanic ash blowing down from Iceland. They may re-open tomorrow :flyingpig:
No, I know it's not April 1st. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8621407.stm)
So there seems to be a fair chance that we won't fly, or that there will be disruption as they clear backlogs. Fingers crossed for Mr & Mrs H, please, everybody.
So, not happy with screwing their own economy and hunting whales, they are now clogging up airports*? What's wrong with them? ;) :mrgreen:
--
Hopefully you'll be able to fly soon. :-[
*or hosting videos of collateral "damage" (wikileaks is hosted in Iceland)
They should reroute you, the tunnel train to Paris and your flight from there (unlike UK, Scandinavia and Denmark, France seem clear of the ash cloud so far)... Sadly enough I don't think they are going to jump such hoops for tourists.
Stockholm Arlanda Airport have announced that they will shut down the runways at 6pm this evening due to the cloud.
I hopes it clears up!
Most northern airports in France and the two Paris ones are shut.
It's bright and sunny here in London. Assume the ash is too high to see. But why isn't it blocking out the sun?
Quote from: Scriblerus the Philosophe on April 15, 2010, 05:28:59 PM
I hopes it clears up!
Well yeah, unless a Volcanic Winter sounds fun. :mrgreen:
No! Don't throw me in the volcano? No, no! Ahhhh!!!!
*ffffttttt*
Made an ash of myself...
It's still errupting - could go on and on......
I rather like it when natural events prevent people doing stuff = it gives a proper perspective on things.
German airports are closing down too. On airports still open only flights South are not cancelled.
According to the papers the ash particles are deadly to jet engines. Several cases were quoted where suddenly all engines failed when a plane passed through the cloud. Worse, the ash clouds are not detected by the usual weather radar on the planes.
Quote from: Griffin NoNameI rather like it when natural events prevent people doing stuff = it gives a proper perspective on things.
I doubt if you would like it as much if it were your holiday being ruined.
It could get worse. The longer the eruption goes on the more likely a larger nearby volcano may erupt also. This has occurred in the past at this very spot.
Volcanic ash is deadly for planes. In addition to fatally damaging engines, it can plug sensors that measure airspeed and altitude.
Soon Michel Crichton will write a (posthoumous) novel with he premise that Greens have triggered the volcano in order to reduce wasteful flying :mrgreen:.
Michael Crichton should do a remake of the Voyage to the Center of the Earth and do some on site research, preferably inside one of those volcanoes.
Quote from: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on April 16, 2010, 01:05:13 PM
Michael Crichton should do a remake of the Voyage to the Center of the Earth and do some on site research, preferably inside one of those volcanoes.
Being (at least officially) dead he might be doing that just right now ;)
Didn't aliens took him off the planet (they're the ones causing global warming, right?). ::)
Yeah, that's why Charlie Sheen is so messed up now. :mrgreen: Ever seen The Arrival?
Quote from: DavidH on April 16, 2010, 08:29:46 AM
Quote from: Griffin NoNameI rather like it when natural events prevent people doing stuff = it gives a proper perspective on things.
I doubt if you would like it as much if it were your holiday being ruined.
Sorry. I thought that might not have come out right. I was looking on it at the macro level. I hope you get away ok...... but it's not looking good.*
But I stand by my comment on perspective. Nature is bigger than all of us. As far as I know, no one has been killed by this erruption, so far at least.
*
if you went to Scotland you might be able to get a flight to somewhere south via flyiing west enough..... west west west south south south east Capri? that's if the wind stays in the same direction.
Low flying planes are still allowed here. So hire a bush pilot if need be :mrgreen:
Maybe this will lead to an Ekranoplan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekranoplan) revival.
S'okay, Griffin, - sorry I snapped at you, but you can guess I was a bit annoyed at the prospect of losing our holiday! That must be a certainty now, but we've not heard from the tour company yet. The main thing is, we ought to get our money back. Due to various commitments, we're now unlikely to get away until autumn.
I take your point about perspective - just compare this 'disaster' to those earthquakes - and anyway just on the travel issue we're better off than all those people stuck in foreign airports.
I don't know how you guys can blame it on the poor ole aliens; can't you see it's god's punishment of those who dare to criticise his priests for kiddy-fiddling. :mrgreen:
Sorry you've lost the holiday. It does look as if this one will drag on. I imagine anyone determined to get from A to B will find a way - they used to manage without planes after all we had a whole empire :mrgreen:
So not even turboprops are flying? I understand the problem with turbines, but turboprops fly lower and perhaps can work with filters? Also I believe there are extra trains working overtime to get people everywhere.
I'm afraid they'll not get such things organised for some time yet, if the problem continues. In Western Europe, some people are managing to move by train, but Channel Ferry prices have risen enormously.
John Cleese got back from Norway by taxi to Brussels and then the Eurostar train, but he can afford over £3,000. :mrgreen:
Even a regular piston engine has problems with volcanic ash. Supposedly you can put nylons over the air filter and it will be okay. Any aircraft that has an altimeter and air speed indicator is gonna have problems.
Somebody must steal Big Brenda's tights. We can put them over the air-intake of the Turbofans and off we go. Mind you, the cabin air might have a bit of a whiff. ;D
Quote from: DavidH on April 17, 2010, 04:05:29 PM
John Cleese got back from Norway by taxi to Brussels and then the Eurostar train, but he can afford over £3,000. :mrgreen:
The Norwegian prime minister too had to take the car home. His plane from NYC went to Madrid. then he got a plane to Switzerland. From there by car all the way. In total: 50 hours.
Apple will probably use him for ads, since while stranded at NY Kennedy airport he remote-governed his country by iPad.
Now how's this for annoying - my travel company refuses to declare the flight cancelled until the NATS announcement officially covers it. All day we've been waiting for the official word and now NATS have just given their latest extension of the ban... until 1300 tomorrow. Our flight is at 1410. It's obviously darn near certain that we won't fly, but we can't be sure until we get the next announcement at about 0300 tomorrow. Mrs H now wants to pack the luggage, just in case. :headbang: :headbang:
eek! Packing is bad at the best of times. The wind looks pretty set to keep blowing this way.
Quote from: Griffin NoName on April 17, 2010, 11:48:17 PM
eek! Packing is bad at the best of times. The wind looks pretty set to keep blowing this way.
the wind blows that way constantly, it is the "jet stream" airlines use to get a (almost) free ride from North America into (most) Europe...
I head this thing has not erupted for 200 years, but the last time it did it lasted over a year...
now that being said, I will take a boat back to the US if I have to...
I was supposed to fly on Tuesady from Rome (visiting family)...
and this :censored: volcano starts spitting fire...
oh well, I feel lucky though... all those people sleeping at the airport around the world...
Hard luck, Stella, you're worse off than we are if you're missing a family visit. Hope it's not an occasion like a wedding or something. Still, as you say, we're safe and comfortable at home.
Quote from: DavidH on April 18, 2010, 11:16:41 AM
Hard luck, Stella, you're worse off than we are if you're missing a family visit. Hope it's not an occasion like a wedding or something. Still, as you say, we're safe and comfortable at home.
Thanks David... I actually reside in the US and trying to (finally) escape from visiting family in Italy (there is only so much closeness I can take :D)
Newspaper reports cars parked in my bit of London covered in ash out of a totally clear sky. Haven't been out to check mine.
Quote from: stellinacadente on April 18, 2010, 12:31:53 AM
now that being said, I will take a boat back to the US if I have to...
I was supposed to fly on Tuesady from Rome
Can't you take a train to Madrid and fly from there (Barajas was open or it isn't anymore)? Or perhaps a boat to Athens?
Quote from: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on April 18, 2010, 05:11:22 PM
Quote from: stellinacadente on April 18, 2010, 12:31:53 AM
now that being said, I will take a boat back to the US if I have to...
I was supposed to fly on Tuesady from Rome
Can't you take a train to Madrid and fly from there (Barajas was open or it isn't anymore)? Or perhaps a boat to Athens?
I suppose...
I could also take the train into Vienna then the Orient Express into Bejin and then Fly to LA and from there to my final destination...
or better yet...maybe get on a boat in Civitavecchia to Southhampton and get then the liner to NYC....
of course if I had the funds Donald Trump allows to travel :D
My question would really be: why the heck don't they reroute the intercontinental flights to North America thru the South???
:explode:
Quote from: stellinacadente on April 18, 2010, 10:32:15 PM
My question would really be: why the heck don't they reroute the intercontinental flights to North America thru the South???
:explode:
Money? In that they couldn't bilk the passengers out of enough?
Yes, I am puzzled why there isn't re-routing going on.
My theory is this: if it makes sense, it's never going to happen. Re-routing through the South would make sense, therefore, it's an impossibility.
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on April 18, 2010, 10:37:50 PM
Quote from: stellinacadente on April 18, 2010, 10:32:15 PM
My question would really be: why the heck don't they reroute the intercontinental flights to North America thru the South???
:explode:
Money? In that they couldn't bilk the passengers out of enough?
Ahemmmmm... Airlines are loosing 200 ml Euros (130 ml GBP) per DAY
on cancelled flight only not mentioning the fact that the European commission has delibarated that the passengers on EU soil flying on EU airlines are entitled to refreshment and accomodations as stated in the Chart of Rights of the EU for air passengers...
NOt really seeing that as being a big profit for the airlines there
Quote from: Scriblerus the Philosophe on April 18, 2010, 11:51:34 PM
My theory is this: if it makes sense, it's never going to happen. Re-routing through the South would make sense, therefore, it's an impossibility.
I am hoping and wanting to believe very hard that the re-routing matter is a little more subtle than simple stupidity... I am hoping that it entails games of geopolitics involving the airspace at the very least if not airports of countries the NATO and specifically the US would rather not touch... like aheeeemmm... Lybia or Marocco... but that is my theory...
and yet, I say where there is a will there is a way...
My concerns really lay within the Bristish Isles that soon enough will be left without perishable goods not to mention 10 million employess who won't be able to return to work from easter break...
school closures because pupils are left with their parents on a prolonged vacation...
now who would have thought that a volcano on remote Iceland would cause all this mess uh???? :faint:
oh well... I guess the good thing is nobody has been injured in this whole thing...
Quote from: stellinacadente on April 19, 2010, 12:13:52 AM
My concerns really lay within the Bristish Isles that soon enough will be left without perishable goods ............
Having just watched a docu. on overweight children wasting health service resources maybe that's a good thing :o
No, it's the shelf-stable stuff that's the issue there - sorry to stereotype, but I doubt most deathly overweight children will pine for their veg... :P
A relative was complaining she couldn't get sugar-snap peas (or some such) and I thought, 'How tragic for you!'
We Brits won't suffer from being short of a few flowers and luxury vegetables, but I feel sorry for the poor blighters in Africa whose livelihoods are on hold. The workers were probably earning something like a dollar for a 12-hour day, and now even that's gone.
Last night we watched a documentary showing little kids in Bangladesh working in hellish conditions in glass factories, peasants whose homes are being eroded by the river, then Chin tribesmen in Burma being hounded by the army. I thought they'd jump at the chance to hang around in an airport hall for a few days, it would be luxury for them.
Now I am confuzed...
where are these peoplehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1267257/Iceland-volcano-eruption-UK-flight-ban-LIFTED-tomorrow.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1267257/Iceland-volcano-eruption-UK-flight-ban-LIFTED-tomorrow.html) getting their infor from??? tarot cards??
Meanwhile I have found this superb shot...I thought i'd share :)
well... Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE63I1WN20100419?type=marketsNews (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE63I1WN20100419?type=marketsNews) says the same...
"I am leavin' on a jet plane..."
(won't believe it until I am up in the air LOL)
Quote from: stellinacadente on April 19, 2010, 12:01:47 AM
NOt really seeing that as being a big profit for the airlines there
Exactly my
point, m'dear.... modern airlines will use any excuse they can, I think, so they can whine about being 'strategic resources' and get lovely govm't money instead.
In spite of all these "losses" I bet you a new, garden-ripe tomato that
none of the top brass in any airline is foregoing any of his usual perks and "bonuses"....
They will be lucky if there's not an incident.
Losing $200M a day they can "afford" losing a 767/A330 a month easily. That is a very scary thought.
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on April 19, 2010, 06:53:23 PM
Quote from: stellinacadente on April 19, 2010, 12:01:47 AM
NOt really seeing that as being a big profit for the airlines there
Exactly my point, m'dear.... modern airlines will use any excuse they can, I think, so they can whine about being 'strategic resources' and get lovely govm't money instead.
In spite of all these "losses" I bet you a new, garden-ripe tomato that none of the top brass in any airline is foregoing any of his usual perks and "bonuses"....
I'd rather pay airlines than AIG ;D at least they get me the places I want/need to go... :mrgreen:
So final word came tonight...
after packing my stuff and getting ready for tomorrow long-haul...
well lovely British Airways canceled my flight (with layover in Heathrow)
what really pisses me off is that said airport will be cleared to function 2 hours after my flight was scheduled to land... result: the first rescheduled flight out of here April 26...
call it has you may I call it :censored:
They are saying their planes are all in the wrong places. You might have layed over in Heathrow for an age. But I could have visited you.
At this point I am going to go to the beach and start swimming West >:(
Make a raft. That way you can have a volleyball with a hand-print and a name of your choosing.
Quote from: Griffin NoName on April 15, 2010, 05:42:13 PM
It's still errupting - could go on and on......
I rather like it when natural events prevent people doing stuff = it gives a proper perspective on things.
Quote from: MentalBlock996 on April 19, 2010, 07:43:46 PM
They will be lucky if there's not an incident.
::)