Galley Gossip: Will the volcanic eruption trigger a baby boom?

by Heather Poole on

During 9/11 I was stuck in Zurich, Switzerland for over a week. Sure there are much worse places to be, but I spent ninety percent of that time sitting around the airport waiting to get back to the United States. Every single day I checked out the hotel, dragged my bags a few blocks in the dark to the train station, and waited at the airport just like thousands of other stranded passengers. I was number 800-and-something on the standby list and all the flights departing to the US – two of them a day – were full. Some passengers became impatient and decided to rent a car and drive to airports in neighboring countries in the hope of getting out sooner. A few days later they were back. The rest of us just sat around waiting for our names to be called. It didn’t take long for strangers from all over the world to become friends.

Now with a volcanic ash cloud over Iceland shutting down European air space, thousands of passengers are stranded at airports around the world. With so many passengers spending time together, I can’t help but wonder if any love connections have formed over the last few days. What can I say, I’m romantic like that. Put a group of people together, throw in a natural disaster, and relationships are bound to form. And with all that time just hanging around airport hotels with nothing to do but, well, ya know, babies are bound to be born nine months later. Don’t ya think?

Remember the 2003 New York City blackout? I wanted to know if it resulted in a rise in births. So I did a little research and found out that the baby boom theory after a disruptive event is an urban legend. Isolated events like blackouts, and I’m going to assume erupting volcanos, do not cause babies to be born. It’s a misconception that people use their downtime to, well, ya know, get busy. Apparently that is the last thing on their mind. Don’t know why. I guess they’re just a little too busy waiting to board a flight that isn’t going to leave for days than to get jiggy with it. So what does cause a baby boom? According to Judith Nolte of “American Baby” magazine in an article written in 2003, the only thing that will create a baby boom is a surging number of women who are fertile. Like we didn’t know that.

I don’t care what the scientists and baby experts say, I predict there will be quite a few babies born as a direct result of Eyafjallajokul erupting. So what do you say we help name all those little volcano babies? After I sent out a tweet asking for a few suggestions, the names came pouring in. Valen, one of the more interesting ones, came from Infobitsystems. It’s a variant of Valentinus; the name of more than fifty saints and three Roman emperors. Now that’s a powerful name! NavyAirCrewman came up with Pele for a girl (Hawaiian volcano goddess) and Hephaistos for a boy (Greek god of fire). Now it’s up to you to decide.

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Photo courtesy of OMI

Some European flights reopen. . .for the moment

by Sean McLachlan on

A limited number of flights took off this morning in Europe after an emergency meeting of EU transport ministers eased the flight ban on those parts of Europe with a lesser amount of ash. Several major airports, such as those in Paris, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt, have seen limited departures. The millions of people waiting for a flight now have some hope of reaching their destination, or at least getting home after being stuck on layovers.

The volcano, however, seems to have other ideas. After a period of reduced activity, a new eruption has belched out a giant cloud of ash that’s heading for the United Kingdom, casting doubt on whether the reopening of a few airports there will last.

The economic impact is widespread, especially for the airlines, whose losses have already passed $1 billion. The tourism industry is also sustaining losses, but this is offset to some degree by people stuck overseas an having to continue to spend money. Luckily this didn’t happen during peak tourist season. Businesses that rely on air freight, such as importers of tropical fruit and flowers, are getting hit hard.

In the meantime, people are scrambling to find alternate modes of transport. My wife, who took many of the photos in our Ethiopia travel series, is still in Oxford trying to figure out how to get back to Madrid. There are no train tickets available until next week and the only transportation her travel agency could offer was a €500 ($672) bus ticket from Paris to Madrid. That’s more than three times the usual price. They also didn’t give any suggestion of how she could get to Paris. British Airways has her scheduled for a flight this afternoon, but since they just announced they’ve canceled all short-haul flights for today I doubt I’ll see her tonight.

Oh, and for some reason BA started following my Twitter feed.

Multiply this tale of frustration by a million, and you get some idea what it’s like to be in Europe right now.

Airlines to EU: “Let us fly!”

by Sean McLachlan on

Airlines are begging the European Union to reconsider the flight ban after four days of no flying have left millions stranded or stuck at home and has cost the airlines hundreds of millions of dollars.

At the urging of the airlines, EU transport ministers are holding a conference on the possibility of lifting the flight ban in areas with lesser concentrations of ash. They’re also discussing using Spain as a hub to fly European passengers back from international destinations and then busing them into their affected countries. Some airports in northern Spain closed over the weekend but have now reopened. The conference is being held via video since most ministers are grounded.

Several airlines have conducted test flights, although most have stayed below the level of the highest concentration of volcanic ash. A British Airways test flight from Heathrow to Cardiff yesterday, however, went up to 10,000 feet, then up 5,000 feet in stages every five minutes until it reached an altitude of 40,000 feet. The flight flew over a portion of the Atlantic and BA says it experienced no difficulties. The plane’s engines are now being examined for damage from the ash, which contains minerals and silica that have jammed jet engines in the past.

Some of the worst affected countries are starting their own measures. The United Kingdom will use three Royal Navy ships to ferry some of its 150,000 stranded citizens back home. Trains, buses, and ferries are seeing record ticket sales.

On a more personal note, my wife, who’s a contributor to the Ethiopia travel series, is still stranded in England. She was taking a flight from our home in Madrid to Toronto via Heathrow and got stuck there. If she had flown two hours earlier she would have made it to Canada; two hours later and she would have never left Spain! We’re racking up hundreds of dollars in hotel bills with no guarantee we’ll be reimbursed, and her travel agency isn’t answering emails. She hopes to get on a train, but with a threatened rail strike here in Madrid, things seem to be only getting worse. And I can tell you it’s no fun explaining to your four-year-old that you don’t know when mom’s coming home.

Don’t wrap gifts – (Holiday) Packing tip

by Gadling Staff on

When traveling over the holidays with gifts, never pre-wrap!

Wrapped items may need to be inspected by the TSA, and that could mean they’ll be unwrapped by security before you even get to your destination. Go ahead and pack the gifts, but either pack a few sheets of wrapping paper — or just plan to purchase paper at your destination — and tend to the task after landing

Icelandic ash stranded you in the US? Beware of a visa overstay!

by Scott Carmichael on

The Iceland volcano disruption is causing unprecedented disruptions in air travel all around the world – but your problems could become even worse if you are here in the United States on any kind of Visa or Visa Waiver that is about to expire.

The Visa Waiver program allows you to be here for 90 days – and overstaying that period will result in all kinds of hassles if you ever plan to return. I have personally witnessed someone being sent back to Europe because they had overstayed by 3 days several years ago.

There is no blanket exception for travelers impacted by the flight cancellations, so you are on your own to apply for an extension. Do not assume everything will be alright – even one day past your 90 days can result in a future deportation or entry refusal.

To apply for the extension, you will need to contact a local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services facility. A guide on how to extend your visa status can be found here. Even though the normal procedures do not permit Visa Waiver status to be changed, exceptions are being made for people stranded due to the volcano. If you are not able to contact a local office, make sure you have a copy of your I-94 arrival-departure form, as you’ll probably have to put together a letter once you get back home.

The official statement sent to foreign embassies in the U.S. can be found here. I recommend printing this information for future reference.