Stranded travelers have days to wait

by Sean McLachlan on

More bad news for travelers stranded by the volcanic eruption in Iceland–the cloud of ash has spread across a wider swath of Europe and it will be days before it dissipates.

The volcano is still churning out large amounts of ash, and with the current wind patterns meteorologists say the cloud will probably stay put until later this week. Even after the skies become safe to fly again, nobody is sure how long it will take to deal with the tremendous backlog of passengers.

Yesterday only 5,000 flights flew within Europe, out of a scheduled 22,000. These flights were between the few remaining nations lucky enough to still have clear airspace. The cloud has affected international flights too, with the majority of flights to Europe from the United States having been canceled.

Those countries that have closed down their airspace entirely include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Those with partial closures and severe delays include Italy, Norway, and Spain.

Yesterday the European Union asked KLM and Lufthansa to run test flights to see if the engines would be damaged by the ash. All eleven airplanes made it to their destinations safely and are being examined for damage. KLM said its initial tests show no problems, and the airline Ukraine International has declared that after its own safety tests it was resuming service.

From a personal point of view, I don’t hold out much hope of seeing my wife fly back from England anytime soon. The best bet seems to be for her to take the Eurostar from London to Paris, and then another train back to Madrid. But with thousands of other people jostling for tickets, and the trip costing more than 300 euros with no guarantee that she’ll be reimbursed, it’s a pretty poor option. In the meantime she’s visiting friends in Oxford and would be cheered up if you looked at her photos from our Ethiopia travel series.

Travel chaos continues in Europe

by Sean McLachlan on

Hundreds of thousands of travelers remain stranded for a third day as flights stay canceled across northern Europe. Ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland continues to blow eastward and numerous countries have limited flights or have closed their airspace entirely.

The following countries have no flights operating: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

These countries have limited service with severe delays and numerous cancellations: Belarus, Croatia, France, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, and Serbia.

Questions are arising about how this is going to affect an already struggling airline industry. Some sources are estimating that the airlines are losing $200 million a day, with several companies already talking about laying off employees or putting them on unpaid leave. There has been no public discussion of reducing executive bonuses.

The Eyjafjallajoekull volcano in southern Iceland is still spewing out ash, although Icelandic vulcanologists are saying at a lower rate. Clouds of ash are hazardous to jets because they can make their engines stall, as happened with two flights in the 1980s.

Ferries and trains such as the Eurostar are reporting record ticket sales as people look for other modes of transport.

As I mentioned in the post about delays on Friday, my wife Almudena, who took many of the best photos in my Ethiopia travel series, is trapped in the UK. Her story is typical of countless other travelers. On Friday, British Airways told her they had rescheduled her flight for Saturday morning, but a few hours later the flight was canceled. UK airspace is now closed until at least 1 am local time Sunday. So at the moment I’m a single dad, she’s given up hope of getting to her meeting in Toronto and went to visit friends in Oxford, and our son is drawing pictures of mom flying over an erupting volcano. I have a feeling a lot of European kids are drawing pictures like that right now.

Amsterdam Airport makes being stranded a little less horrible

by Scott Carmichael on

Because of the Icelandic volcanic ash, pretty much every airport in Europe has been shut down. Some passengers at Schiphol have been stranded at the airport for two days, and since the volcanic eruption can’t be blamed on the airlines, nobody is getting any free hotel rooms.

So – the terminals have been transformed into one massive bedroom. Thankfully, Schiphol has put a lot of effort into trying to provide a little comfort for their temporary guests – free food and drinks and free beds with a sleep kit. Parts of the terminal even have free live music, massage therapy and Internet terminals.

The airport has even lifted its ban on public consumption of alcohol, allowing the duty free stores to sell alcohol till 9:30pm. With over 100 shops and a casino, there are worst places to be stranded. So, if you are stranded abroad because of the volcano, best of luck – try and make the best of it, and fingers crossed that the skies clear up tomorrow.

(Apologies for the Dutch spoken video clip – but the images give a decent idea of the situation)

Detroit TSA agent moonlighting as armed fast food robber

by Scott Carmichael on

A Detroit TSA agent has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in at least four robberies of local fast food restaurants. The men were caught on camera robbing a McDonalds where they used a brick to smash the windows and rob the staff. The camera footage shows the men using the same blue gloves as used by TSA staff at airport checkpoints.

The gang was made up of three men – but the TSA is most interested in Quantrez Sawyer as they are the ones that employ him to guard Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The arrest is just another embarrassment for the TSA who seem to have a pretty bad track record. In the past, TSA workers have been arrested on suspicion of luggage theft, theft of an HBO production camera and even possession of child porn.

The three are each being held on a $1 million bond, and if convicted, they may end up spending life sentences in jail.
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Massive flight disruptions continue in Europe

by Sean McLachlan on

Europe is suffering its second day of travel chaos as a giant plume of ash from an Icelandic volcano grounds an estimated 5,000 flights. Aviation officials say airplanes could be grounded into the weekend.

The skies over several countries are completely closed. These include the UK, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, The Netherlands, Finland, and Lithuania. Parts of the airspace over Sweden, France, Germany, Poland, and Austria are also closed.

Volcanic ash can cause jet engines to seize up, so it would be highly risky to start flights until the cloud has dissipated. It’s unclear when that will happen since it depends on weather conditions and the volcano itself. Officials say the skies over the UK will remain closed until at least one a.m. Saturday local time.

One of the hundreds of thousands of people affected is my wife, Almudena, who is responsible for many of the best photos in our travel series about Ethiopia. She left early in the morning yesterday to attend a meeting in Toronto. She had a layover at Heathrow, and made it just in time to get stuck there. British Airways gave her a hotel and meal voucher for one night. This morning the hotel hadn’t heard from BA, and the airline’s phone lines are jammed, so she has to go back to Heathrow to get another hotel voucher. Since so many people are in the same situation, she’s probably going to have to wait in the biggest line of her life.

Update: No line, because the airport is completely closed. Almudena reports there were no British Airways representatives anywhere, they didn’t tell her hotel to extend her stay, and she’s had to pay for another night out of her own pocket. Thanks BA! Good thing our four-year-old boy is safe with me and not stranded with her.