More flight cancellations in Ireland and Scotland

by Sean McLachlan on

Those hoping that yesterday’s closure of airports in Ireland and parts of Scotland would only be a one-day affair were disappointed when the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull came back with renewed strength.

Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, and numerous smaller airports have closed, and the Civil Aviation Authority says northern England may also be affected. Officials added that airports further south, such as Heathrow and Gatwick, will probably escape for now.

Airplanes are not only forbidden to fly through thick concentrations of volcanic ash, but must also stay more than 60 nautical miles (69 terrestrial miles) away from them.

Officials say the ash will be thickest over Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and western Scotland all of today.

The last time Eyjafjallajökull erupted was 1821, when it ejected clouds of ash on and off for more than a year.

Was there a silver lining to that volcanic ash cloud?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Well, no. Millions of people– and not just air travelers– were affected by that giant cloud of volcanic ash that cancelled flights into and out of Europe last week, including flower salesmen in Kenya, potential organ transplant recipients in Germany, and injured U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But some are now declaring that there’s a silver lining to the Great Smoke Monster Uprising of 2010. Keith Sawyer, a psychology professor at Washington University in St. Louis, says that gridlock at the airport might actually be good for travelers because it will help them rediscover their inherent “creativity.” From the article:

Like it or not, stranded travelers around the globe are suddenly finding themselves with a lot of unscheduled time on their hands, and idle time is a key ingredient to becoming more creative in your personal and professional lives, says Sawyer.

As Russ Roberts points out, the only explanation for Sawyer’s odd hypothesis is that the man has never had his flight canceled or delayed.

Sawyer is not alone in trying to decipher a minuscule, probably illusory bright spot in a sea of horribleness. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks it will be a boon for the upcoming Pittsburgh Marathon. (Woo-hoo!) Elsewhere, investment bankers may stand to profit. (Double woo-hoo!) And FedEx also sees a possible silver lining in the mess.

While I admire the optimism, can’t we all just agree that the interruption of air travel into and out of Europe for almost a week was a completely awful thing? No silver lining. No “but on the other hand…” Thousands of people lost loads of money, many others were inconvenienced beyond belief, still others didn’t receive the medicines (or organs!) they needed. It is a little like pointing out that 9/11 was terrible but at least it “brought the country together.” No, it was terrible, period. So was last week.

For a more thoughtful consideration of the implications of the recent air travel disruption, check out Eric Weiner’s piece over at World Hum “Seven Lessons from the Great Volcano Shutdown of 2010.”

Ryanair says “screw you” to stranded passengers – European Union sends them a copy of the law

by Scott Carmichael on

Ryanair CEO Micheal O’Leary played tough guy this week when he told his customers that he wouldn’t pay a penny to cover expenses resulting from being stranded due to the Icelandic Volcano.

In statements to the media, he admitted that he was fully aware of EU compensation laws, but chose to ignore them claiming:

There’s no legislation designed that says any airline getting a fare of 30 euro (£26) should be reimbursing passengers many thousands of euro for hotel accommodation. It’s absurd.

Well, unfortunately for Mr O’Leary, there actually is legislation that is designed just for that purpose. In fact, European air travelers are one of the most protected groups of travelers in the world.

As it turns out, European lawmakers may have told Ryanair to re-read the laws he’s bound to – because two days after his tough statements, the airline took a u-turn and confirmed that they would indeed be refunding passengers for “reasonably-receipted expenses”.

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

Free admission to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens for volcanic ash victims

by Scott Carmichael on

Travelers from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Continental Europe who are stranded in the US are eligible for free admission to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Waterpark and Busch Gardens Tampa.

Because of the volcanic ash flight disruptions, thousands of tourists are stuck waiting for their airlines to get permission to fly, and a free day trip to one of these parks could really help take some of the stress (and boredom) out of waiting.

To get your free tickets, you need a return airline ticket valid from April 14 through Wednesday April 21 (or until flights return to normal). One free ticket is issued for each airline ticket presented. The offer is also extended to airline crews. For more information on this very generous promotion, you can call 1-888-800-5447 or visit the SeaWorld parks and entertainment blog.