Heathrow, Gatwick, and other airports disrupted

by Sean McLachlan on

A large cloud of ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano is sweeping across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, shutting down airports all across the islands.

Heathrow and Gatwick were closed until 7am local time and have been operating on a limited capacity with numerous delays and cancellations. This morning Gatwick had the strange situation of being able to allow planes to take off, but its approach path, which was closer to the ash cloud, was closed and no flights were able to land.

Airports also faced disruptions in parts of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the Isle of Man. Rail services are adding extra trains to deal with stranded air passengers. Currently only Belfast City, Londonderry, Shetland, and Orkney airports are closed, but most other airports in the region are still trying to catch up after numerous delays and cancellations.

As the cloud continues to move south and east, it may cause disruptions on mainland Europe. Amsterdam’s Schiphol, Rotterdam, and Groningen airports in The Netherlands are closed until at least 2pm local time.

The Met Office, a UK weather predicting service, is predicting the winds over Iceland and the North Atlantic will shift to a more easterly direction in the coming days, blowing the ash up into the arctic regions and away from more populated areas. They have created maps showing the predicted spread of the cloud.

Here comes the ash again!

by Sean McLachlan on

Airports in parts of Northern Ireland have shut down due to the latest ash cloud from Iceland’s infamous Eyjafjallajökull volcano. The main airport affected is Belfast, which will remain closed until at least 1pm local time. Ronaldsway airport on the Isle of Man is also closed.

A large cloud of ash is headed southeast from Iceland and is predicted to affect airports across the UK and the Republic of Ireland on Monday and Tuesday. If winds continue as predicted, the cloud should be out of UK airspace by Wednesday, but of course the winds could always shift back towards the UK and with the eruption showing no signs of abating, travelers could be in for another major headache.

The UK’s Met Office has produced a handy and somewhat depressing series of charts predicting the movement of the ash cloud.

Meanwhile, vulcanologist Dr. Dougal Jerram from Durham University said Eyjafjallajökull could keep erupting for several months. Vulcanologists are also worried about Eyjafjallajökull’s sister volcano Katla, which is much bigger than Eyjafjallajökull and usually erupts within a year of Eyjafjallajökull erupting.

Travelers should have figured out by this point to check ahead before going to the airport, but it bears repeating.

Fly the Air France Airbus A380 from London to Paris for just $115!

by Scott Carmichael on

Fancy a trip on the world’s largest jet? Air France is about to start flying the Airbus A380 from London Heathrow to Paris Charles De Gaulle – making them the only airline to use the plane on a short haul route.

Normally, the A380 is used on long hail international routes, making it tough to experience the plane “on the cheap”, but the Summer A380 London-Paris flights cost just £80 (or £280 for business class) putting the trips well in reach of any budget.

The A380 flights will operate one round trip each day starting on June 12th until Monday August 30th. To book a ticket or to learn more about this amazing plane, head on over to the Air France A380 site.

Sadly, the chances of any of the US carriers buying an A380 are rather slim – most US carriers don’t even have enough cash to provide blankets or water – let alone invest $317 million in a massive plane.

London town hall reopens as luxury hotel

by Melanie Nayer on

What’s one way to restructure an old building? Turn it into a luxury hotel.

The old town hall in the heart of London‘s East End officially reopened as a luxury hotel on May 12, featuring 98 luxury rooms and apartments all within walking distance to London’s financial district.

The hotel developer, Design Hotels, kept much of the town hall’s aesthetics in place when renovating the building for hotel guests. Many of the original interiors, including a council chamber, marble hallways and spiral staircases, are still intact and part of the new hotel design.

The Town Hall Hotel offers studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom options with various interior designs, some with modern kitchens. Artwork was provided by local London artists and the hotel also features a gym, a pool and a restaurant by Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes.

Rooms range in price depending on the amount of time you stay. For the hotel rooms, a double bedroom will run you £290.00 a night (approximately $427 USD) for 1-6 nights; £247.00 a night for 7-28 nights; and drops to £203.00 a night for stays more than 28 days. Comparatively, a one-bedroom apartment costs £345.00 a night (approximately $507 USD) for 1-6 nights; £293.25 a night for 7-28 nights; and £241.50 a night if you stay longer than 28 days.

The hotel opens in plenty of time to capture the pending tourist rush for the 2012 Olympic Games, which city officials hope will revitalize the East End area.

British Airways announces more upcoming strike dates

by Scott Carmichael on

British Airways just can’t catch a break – the airline is still recovering from the massive disruptions caused by the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, and now they will have to deal with four different five-day strikes.

The first of the strikes will take place on May 18, followed by May 24, May 30 and June 5.

Unite, the union behind the strike said that 81% of cabin crew voted in favor of the strike, which will no doubt hurt passengers more than it’ll hurt the airline.

During the last strike, British Airways retaliated against striking cabin crew by removing their free flight perks, with that threat looming, I’m surprised so many union members were in favor of this strike – but I’m guessing they assume the union will fight to get those rights restored.

British Airways has posted a brief statement on their web site, but travelers with flights during the strike will need to keep checking for flight updates. During the last big strike, BA was able to keep a large number of flights in operation – albeit with a reduced schedule.

Sooner or later one of the parties will need to give in to the demands – because 20 days of strikes during the upcoming summer season will cause massive amounts of disruption to an already battered airline.