View Full Version : How is the volcanic ash situation affecting you, your friends, family or work?
It's not affecting me personally in any other way apart from the flight tracker being particularly boring to watch at the moment but I know a couple of people who are suffering because of it.
A friend of mine, I'll call him "Tony" because that is his name was in Las Vegas last week. He flew to New York on Thursday evening for a Friday flight home. That's obviously not happened and the earliest he's been offered by Continental is next Friday. He's staying in a Travel Inn in New Jersey and reckons this is going to cost him a minimum of £1000 extra and it's not covered by travel insurance. His business will suffer with him being away as will his wifes small business and his kids will miss a week of schooling.
My brother is staying with The Hunter and is due back home on Tuesday after a connecting flight into JFK on Monday. Although technically that's currently going to be clear I very much doubt he'll be on that flight. He's a contractor although he's on a break in between contracts at the moment, due to start his new one in a week time.
Work wise it's not affecting our business at all really except for the eight people who were in Edinburgh all this week but they manages to squeeze on a train home on Thursday evening. Although our business relies on large movements of product, the international ones are all done by boat.
So how are YOU *points* affected by the volcanic ash cloud?
Knipples
17-04-2010, 10:26
The suits for all the men for my sisters wedding a week today are stuck in Glasgow (were meant to be on a plane to Bristol in time for today)
I guess they are bringing them down by road now, although it has caused a bit of a hiccup because they have been adjusted for each person, and they now won't get to try them on beforehand to check they're ok.
Other than that nothing really.
We have 3 members of staff (an RGN, a senior care assistant and a domestic) in India atm - Phillip (RGN) was meant to be flying back yesterday ready for shift Monday (not gonna happen), Shanty (SCA) is due back Wednesday/Thursday for work next weekend (so may still be ok), and Shelly (dom) is due back Monday for shift Wednesday.
The director got back about 24 hours before the problems started (he is probably kicking himself :p )
We've had some interesting excuses for not getting back to work on time after holiday but an Icelandic volcano is probably the best one.
Current restrictions say "until 0100 BST on Sunday" - Phillip phoned work yesterday and said he had been given a number and once flights resume they are issues tickets in number order (so the first people affected will get the first flights available)
Blighter
17-04-2010, 10:39
Feek, airliners have to put you up until they can fly you home if its the return part of a two way flight! Get him to charge his airliner!!
The only way it's affecting me is having to sort out some people with trains back from Edinburgh as they couldn't fly.
I'm unaffected except for a friend who can't make a birthday celebration in London today. She broke her foot last weekend and would rather not navigate the trains with crutches and luggage, so she's staying in Leeds for the weekend. Some on here would probably argue that worked out for the best. ;D
My parents are supposed to be going to Majorca tomorrow,I cancelled the hotel for them this morning
Also have friends stuck in LA, thye have been told Thursday at earliest
Apparantly all this stuff about volcanic ash from Iceland is incorrect, turns out it originated from Goodison Park in Liverpool
Someone was heard last week asking the cleaner to give the trophy cabinet a dusting ;)
Feek, airliners have to put you up until they can fly you home if its the return part of a two way flight! Get him to charge his airliner!!
The only way it's affecting me is having to sort out some people with trains back from Edinburgh as they couldn't fly.
Isn't that a legislation if you are flying within the EU with an EU airliner only? The law is different if you are aboard, according to the news. Obviously we all need to read the small prints in our travel insurance.
I got home a week before it all kicked off. I'm in two minds about that - I'd have loved to stay out there longer, but I've also used every scrap of holiday I have at work and I've now got £5.7k on the plastic, which is quite enough thankyou (going to take a while paying that lot off as it is).
What's with all the football teams dusting out their trophy cabinets at the same time? Seems that the entire Premiership is doing it. :p
PS - Mondo - I think you may be right - protection mandated by the EU.
Psymonkee
17-04-2010, 11:19
Only thing I know of is a friend of mine won a holiday to St Lucia and was supposed to fly out a couple of days ago....now next week instead....
Isn't that a legislation if you are flying within the EU with an EU airliner only? The law is different if you are aboard, according to the news. Obviously we all need to read the small prints in our travel insurance.
The Lisbon treaty I think, which does only purport to EU flights. There maybe something similar in place for the US side but it won't be covered by that. Only the travel company/insurers will say for sure!
My friend at work's little boy was at Liverpool airport at 4.30 for a flight to Spain with his class that they've been looking forward to for ages. his baby brother was in hospital with gastroenteritis all Tuesday/Wednesday, and his poor dad was exhausted when he finally made it in at around 11am after they sent the kids home saying come back tomorrow, same time.
However, the airport here is now closed til 7am Monday at least, so the trip has been cancelled and the school have said the insurers claimed 'act of God' so won't pay back the £550. They are saying they will do their best to rebook but at the moment, it's all off and the kids are devastated :(
Poor bubbas.
Another couple of friends were flying out to Barcelona yesterday morning, but obviously aren't now. I'm so glad I got the Cologne trip in 2 weeks ago, it was either week before or 2 weeks after Easter (as Leo & I were away last weekend), so we definitely chose the right one!
It hasn't affected me personally as I flew home from Stockholm on Tuesday. It has affected loads of my colleagues though. 2 of my guys are spending the weekend in Stockholm and are currently booked onto a flight into LHR tomorrow afternoon but I don't expect that'll happen. Some (6 I think) of my French colleagues managed to get a Eurostar ticket back to Paris on Thursday evening.
I'm not due to fly again until Tuesday evening but I'm not going to be overly surprised if that doesn't happen. The current plan is to take the Eurostar to Brussels on Tuesday morning for a meeting in Zaventem and then fly Brussels to Milan Malpensa on Tuesday evening then home to LHR on Thursday evening.
Stan_Lite
17-04-2010, 12:17
I'm due to fly to Egypt, via Heathrow, to work on Thursday. If flights start again tomorrow, they should hopefully have caught up by then.
I'd be a bit miffed if I got delayed. I've been home for nearly 10 weeks now due to problems encountered while drilling the top hole sections of this new well. I'm extremely bored and extremely broke.
My family all live in Shetland where the ash has actually been coming to earth with the rain. Everybody I have spoken to has talked of a sulphur odour in the air and fine dust on their cars. My Mam is a bit wary of going outdoors as she is very prone to lung infections due to a medical condition (she's had pneumonia several times in the last few years) in case the very fine dust triggers another infection. She's due for an operation at the end of the month and, obviously, an infection at this late stage could well delay the procedure.
Also, some of my workmates are stuck on oil rigs in the North Sea due to helicopters not flying.
Blighter
17-04-2010, 12:43
Aww that sucks, hope it all works out ok for your mum Stan.
Its over hyping sunsets. Had 2 sunset shoots this week where I could have done with an amazing sunset. Nada. All hype.
Some of my mums work colleagues are stuck in the US so the school will have to get supply teachers in.
As I have to drive long distances often I've seen a hell of a lot more traffic on the road. Monday morning is going to be fun.
A couple of people at work are probably not going on holiday.
I flew back this time last week from San Fran - SOOOO lucky!
BB x
I'm stuck! Flew back to the UK on Wednesday evening, for a meeting Thursday, and now I can't get home. My parents are also stuck in Egypt, so I've broken into their house (I wish I was kidding....).
http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/
It's not stopping from looking at that feed.
http://www.flightradar24.com/
If anyone is near Denmark, could you pop to my flat and mail me the contents of my pant and sock drawer? :D
Psymonkee
17-04-2010, 14:01
What's bothering me most is of course the insurers and 'Act of God' clause :/
Sooooo many people will be out of pocket/lose holidays over the biggest get out clause ever written :(
Sorry to hear more people's troubles. :(
A lot are going to get stung badly by act of god. Some insurers are paying out apparently, but a lot of the 'bargain' types won't, and obviously anyone even thinking about insurance now won't be covered.
Wonder how long it'll be before the supermarkets are impacted. I should think we're about there by now so expect imported fresh fruit and veg prices to be on the up. :(
If this turns into a long-term thing (which it might if Katla pops), then it's going to be interesting times ahead for anything vaguely airline-related (could well see a few go bust - and I wouldn't be surprised if that includes BA).
Greenlizard0
17-04-2010, 14:28
A skirt wearer I know (still undecided whether I want to bonk her) has missed her flights back home.
Other than not really affected. Luckily my parents and a few other peeps I know flew just before it farted.
My sister is a nanny and the girls she looks after and their Mum flew out to Portugal on Wednesday for a weeks holiday just before this all kicked off. Their Dad had to work until Friday and was due to fly out to join them yesterday. Looks like by the time he can get out there it'll be time for them to all come back anyway.
Hope your Mum doesn't have any problems with all this Stan and she gets her op without any problems. Which hospital is she going to?
Flibster
17-04-2010, 15:56
If anyone is near Denmark, could you pop to my flat and mail me the contents of my pant and sock drawer? :D
Turned them inside out yet? Extends the wearability by a day. ;D
Wonder how long it'll be before the supermarkets are impacted. I should think we're about there by now so expect imported fresh fruit and veg prices to be on the up. :(
They are already having problems. Local Sainsburys have very little in the fruit and veg isle.Went to the market in town today and half the fruit and veg stalls weren't there, and those that were had very little. Luckilly, there's one stall that is all UK produce so stocked up from them.
Blighter
17-04-2010, 16:45
A skirt wearer I know (still undecided whether I want to bonk her)
;D
Creature
17-04-2010, 17:26
Not badly affected here, but it stinks of sulfur at about 3000 feet, makes it nice for the pilots.
Dad's stuck in Paris, but i'm sure he's not too dissapointed.
Stan_Lite
17-04-2010, 18:30
Hope your Mum doesn't have any problems with all this Stan and she gets her op without any problems. Which hospital is she going to?
Just spoke to Mam just now and she's not having any problems so far - apart from sneezing a lot with the very fine dust. Her op is on the 28th at Foresterhill (ARI). Hopefully things will be back to normal by then.
It made the sky pretty:
http://www.finkydink.co.uk/albums/userpics/sunset.jpg
my parents flight for tomorrow has now been cancelled so their holiday is off
Davey_Pitch
17-04-2010, 19:28
Apparantly all this stuff about volcanic ash from Iceland is incorrect, turns out it originated from Goodison Park in Liverpool
Someone was heard last week asking the cleaner to give the trophy cabinet a dusting ;)
I just thought the cloud was caused by Liverpool's chances of 4th going up in smoke :p
Not affecting us here or anyone we personally know, hope everyone who's having problems have them all sorted soon :)
Turned them inside out yet? Extends the wearability by a day. ;D
Already done it 5 times. Not sure it's still working though.
Blighter
17-04-2010, 20:30
Get some Icebreaker boxers - made from extremely fine NZ merino wool - you can wear them for weeks at a time... :P
http://www.berserker.me.uk/img/10/04/IMG_9811.JPG
Well, that's one effect.
Dymetrie
17-04-2010, 23:53
We've been at a friend's wedding today (much fun had by all).
They're due to fly out to Italy on Monday for their honymoon, not sure how likely that is now :(
No chance of getting their flight on Monday I think.
Even if the restrictions are lifted at 1900 today then there will be planes out of position, crews out of position so the airlines will have to either fly the planes empty to get them to the passengers or cancel flights. Every single time they'll choose to cancel the flights.
I'm supposed to be flying to Italy (from Brussels) on Tuesday evening and will be shocked if that happens. Not that I'm upset as avoiding Milan is always a bonus.
My mate was supposed to fly to tokyo Friday on holiday, so he's peeved.
ALL international post from the UK except europe is apparently going nowhere (even surface???) although just read that some US mail is going by road to a Southern Europe airport and being flown from there.
What's bothering me most is of course the insurers and 'Act of God' clause :/
Sooooo many people will be out of pocket/lose holidays over the biggest get out clause ever written :(
Could lead to an interesting court case if you insisted they prove it was Gods fault :p
No impact here that i'm aware of.
A bloke at work was supposed to be going on holiday when it all kicked off, not happening now.
We were expecting a parcel from Austria via TNT express which will now have to come by road. Luckily our consignments at work from Italy are road shipped so no angry customers.
Burble, the only good thing about Milan is the women and the food. Was over there a couple of weeks back for an exhibition, luckily it was a nice couple of days, glad I'm not stuck there, I'd have zero cash left.
Even if the restrictions are lifted at 1900 today .
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8627545.stm
Its been extended again:
Flight restrictions have been extended until at least 0100 BST on Monday and forecasters say the ash cloud could remain over the UK for many more days.
Burble, the only good thing about Milan is the women and the food. Was over there a couple of weeks back for an exhibition, luckily it was a nice couple of days, glad I'm not stuck there, I'd have zero cash left.
But even with the food as good as it is there, it isn't good enough to make me want to go to that dirty, disgusting crap hole of a city.
^^ Mum has to go to Milan quite often and I always know she's off there when she says 'Off to the sh*thole again this week' ;D It's one of the only places she absolutely hates going to.
Flibster
18-04-2010, 12:38
^^ Mum has to go to Milan quite often and I always know she's off there when she says 'Off to the sh*thole again this week' ;D It's one of the only places she absolutely hates going to.
Never been to Coventry then? ;)
Yes, lots! At least they have a nice Cathedral and did produce our very own lovely Metro ;D
Knipples
18-04-2010, 13:12
Apparently we are saving the equivalent in CO2 every day that the planes dont fly, that the whole country uses in a year, so at least there's that benefit. :)
I'd take some serious convincing that that was correct.
While there is no doubt that planes are bad, mmkay, people and goods still have to go places. Using existing services is fine, but what about all the extra journeys that are being made by road? All the people that are away from home will still have to get home - somehow. Goods still have to go where they need to.
Blighter
18-04-2010, 13:47
Apparently we are saving the equivalent in CO2 every day that the planes dont fly, that the whole country uses in a year, so at least there's that benefit. :)
Just incase the volcano didn't give off enough of it? :p
SPW is stuck in Finland at the moment. So that's how it's affecting me... (i.e. no housemate), other than that, it hasn't been a problem for me at all.
Oooh I hope he gets back before the weekend!
One of my friends is supposed to be flying out to Dubai for a week on Tuesday. I'm hoping my best for her that she'll get out for at least a bit of her holiday but right now who knows when they'll get out there.
The European government has officially been operating out of 69 Towers this weekend trying to settle some kind of compensation for flight losses :D
Blighter
18-04-2010, 23:10
The European government has officially been operating out of 69 Towers this weekend trying to settle some kind of compensation for flight losses :D
69 Towers?
A colleague from a previous job flew out to Spain for a weeks holiday before it all kicked off, Thomas Cook package holiday deal. TC has had to extend and extend the hotel stay and he's merrily enjoying the extra break. Not sure how his work situation is.
Other than that its not impacting me or friends that I've been in contact with.
edit: Something that does occur to me, I now doubt my abroad voter registration will go through in time for the General Election.
I heard somewhere that US/UK mail may be being routed via spain. I don't know if that's true, but it might mean that mail is at least getting through.
At least three members of staff are stranded abroad that I know of at the moment.
Justsomebloke
19-04-2010, 08:24
There are no Planes in the Sky, It's Scarey. :o
I've never known it before in All me years & I don't like it !!! ;D
I just got off a conference call where the main topic of discussion was colleagues stuck abroad. Out of a company or around 650 people there are 96 people unable to get home. Some of them are on holiday but the vast majority are on business trips. There are 20 or so people stuck in Los Angeles, 10 in Beijing, 9 in Seoul... the list goes on.
Justsomebloke
19-04-2010, 09:03
I would hate not to be able to get home, i don't envy anybody that is stuck any where no matter what the location.
I've lost count of the times I've had to spend an extra day or two away because of flight cancellations and the like but this really is in a different league!
I feel very sorry for people having to fund their extended stays out of their own pocket - it's going to cost a small fortune. At least our lot who are away on business don't have to worry about the cost.
Stan_Lite
19-04-2010, 09:06
I just got off a conference call where the main topic of discussion was colleagues stuck abroad. Out of a company or around 650 people there are 96 people unable to get home. Some of them are on holiday but the vast majority are on business trips. There are 20 or so people stuck in Los Angeles, 10 in Beijing, 9 in Seoul... the list goes on.
That must be damned inconvenient - both for the poor people stranded and for the business. Having been stranded on the rig for an extra three days before due to snow in the UK, I can sympathise with the stranded people who want to get home.
As this drags on, it looks less an less likely that I'll be heading out to Egypt on Thursday as planned. The problem there is that we don't actually have an experienced ex-pat engineer out there at the moment who can go to the rig. I was due to go to the rig on Saturday with drilling due to commence on Monday/Tuesday. We recently made modifications to our equipment and, when drilling starts, it will be the first time the equipment has been run in it's modified configuration. The local guys are more than capable of running the equipment without me but I'm concerned that, should there be teething problems with the modifications, the relative lack of experience and confidence of the Egyptian nationals may cause problems.
Just been announced on the radio that flights delayed until at least 01:00 tomorrow.
A colleague just updated their Facebook status to say they may be stuck in the US until the 2nd of May. :shocked: They're meant to be back tomorrow.
I just got off a conference call where the main topic of discussion was colleagues stuck abroad. Out of a company or around 650 people there are 96 people unable to get home. Some of them are on holiday but the vast majority are on business trips. There are 20 or so people stuck in Los Angeles, 10 in Beijing, 9 in Seoul... the list goes on.
Similar deal here - I think we're up to 1500 employees with a similar number stranded. What really scares me now is that we're very well into year end. With the likelihood that at least some of our sales staff are impacted, and knowing how precarious our results were already, I dread to think what this could do to us. I'm sure everyone is doing everything they possibly can so only time will tell.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8629051.stm
0949 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says Royal Navy ships will be used to transport stranded UK citizens back home.
HMS Ark Royal and HMS Ocean are currently moving towards an unspecified Channel port. HMS Albion is on its way to Spain.
One of the other negative effects:
0934 The Press Association reports that thousands of UK airline workers could soon be laid off as a result of the crisis.
One of the options being considered is making staff take their holidays now, industry sources told the UK news agency.
Picking up troops is something I really support. They've been through enough already.
My dad went on a golfing trip to South-East Spain, and has been stuck out there for a while.
They looked at a few options, and decided on driving from Alicante to Paris, then getting a Catamaran thingy from Cherborg to Plymouth, then driving from Plymouth.
I think it was around 24 hours of driving to Plymouth, then back to Weston-super-Mare from then. He's now in bed. Understandably.
There are some people I know past due home from places like Australia etc... My initial reaction was "Oh noes! What a travesty being stranded there :rolleyes: :p" but on further thoughts, I imagine the airline company will only be funding their hotel and basic meal rations... with no travelling moneys left, I imagine it's a case of hotel room / airport lounge and a very dull wait :(
It's bad enough waiting for 2 hours let alone 2 weeks! It's fortunate this has happened now and not 6 weeks into the peak season - at least there are possibilities of extra charters, journeys and services which I imagine would otherwise be further exhausted in the school holidays!
Picking up troops is something I really support. They've been through enough already.
Agreed.
SPW looks like he'll be stuck until the 25th of April! Poor bugger, this does mean that he won't be able to make Mei's b'day. :(
One of the people at work is in Oz at the moment, may not be able to get back till early May! Fortunately they are staying with family, but I feel sorry for those that have to dig out of their own pocket.
So so glad I don't work in my old job - not being able to get home always used to **** me right off.
There are some people I know past due home from places like Australia etc... My initial reaction was "Oh noes! What a travesty being stranded there :rolleyes: :p" but on further thoughts, I imagine the airline company will only be funding their hotel and basic meal rations... with no travelling moneys left, I imagine it's a case of hotel room / airport lounge and a very dull wait :(
Not all will be receiving any support from the airline, and sometimes you just want to get home. I can assure you when you spend your life taking close to 40 flights a year the last thing you want to do is be stranded, even if it is in a nice place. Albeit I did make the best of it as I'm sure a lot of people will do, but luckily for me, it wasn't coming out of my pocket - when it does, it gets expensive, very quickly, with very slim chances of any remuneration.
This is going to cost businesses a lot of money to support staff on expenses that are also away.
That aside, I do have to say I like the fact nature still has so much ability to control us - it's so refreshing. :)
That aside, I do have to say I like the fact nature still has so much ability to control us - it's so refreshing. :)
It's a reminder of the power of nature!
It's not 'nice to see', but much preferred to seeing repeats of other recent nature events such as earthquakes / floods!
That aside, I do have to say I like the fact nature still has so much ability to control us - it's so refreshing. :)
Agreed: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/7606277/Dramatic-footage-of-ash-and-lightning-above-Iceland-volcano.html
Agreed whilst earthquakes and other such events cost lives, I still can't help feel as though it's a fair compromise between our existence on earth and the fact we have no control over nature.
Creature
19-04-2010, 15:15
There's a rumour that our airfield might get shut until this all clears, which would be bloody annoying. However, a plus side to all this is that our pilots are getting to do things we'd never have the chance to do. In the last few days, I think as a club, we've carried out 10 missed approaches (flying down the runway at 500ft) at Luton, Stansted and City, and also a landing at Luton. Make it quite interesting really.
Bugger, I never thought of that! Time for me to dust off my gear!
Looks like we've caught a break - airspace may open progressively during the day tomorrow.
Yeah but the volcano activity has also started to increase again over the past couple of hours
According to NATS :
The latest information from the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) and Met Office advises that the volcanic eruption has reduced in volume and the volcano is not currently emitting ash to altitudes that will affect the UK airspace. Assuming there are no further significant ash emissions we are now looking at a continuously improving situation
The head of physics is stuck in Brussels I found out this morning, means a bit of responsibility being shifted to me. A compliment, but also stressful when I got my own stuff to sort out too. Still, the rest of the teachers in the department are doing their bit too, which cant be bad!
I just walked through St. Pancras and it is absolute bedlam downstairs around the Eurostar area!
I'm travelling by Eurostar tomorrow to Brussels (and maybe back) and have already printed my tickets at home to try and avoid some of the queues at St. Pancras. Hopefully that plus the fact that I'm travelling business class should mean that I don't have too much trouble doing what I need to do tomorrow.
I meant bulgaria, not brussels - whoops!
TinkerBell
19-04-2010, 17:48
Well Barclays/Barclaycard are complete tossers. My auntie and uncle are stuck in Spain... they only took a credit card with them and a small amount of cash as the hotel was all inclusive they have run out of cash and because of having to pay for a hotel they have reached their credit limit on the card (only £1500 original hotel and flights were booked on it) My dad went into Barclays this morning to pay some cash into the account, but Barclays wouldn't accept it as he wasn't the account holder... he explained the situation and ask what they suggested, Barclays suggested that they contact Barclaycard and request an increase in their credit limit!
That sucks! Have they not got online banking? Or can they not transfer money over internet from a relative to the account ( not sure if you can do this with Credit Cards)?
TinkerBell
19-04-2010, 18:04
Bah, It might not take that long now, they changed it a while ago with my bank (may have done it with Barclay's) where if I transfer money it is done in less than 2 hours and you can use it, see it normally in about 15 mins. May be something to look into before having to increase credit limit
Yeah, some cards that works, others it doesn't. I don't know if it's possible to check whether or not they accept faster payments.
If they do, just do a regular payment using the Barclaycard repayment sort code and account number, add the card number as the reference, and it should get there.
Did they have the bank details? Usually as long as you have the details of the card, then you can pay over the counter. However as he isn't the account holder, if he doesn't know the details, then they can't give them to him, i.e. if he has the card number/their address etc. I pay money into my Mum's account and vice versa all the time, it's never a problem as long as I fill a paying-in slip with all the information. If I don't have it all, then it won't happen.
Flibster
19-04-2010, 18:56
Second volcano has apparently started up in Iceland now. Only report I've found so far is in spanish, but I've run it through google translate.
Linky (http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp%3Fidpublicacio_PK%3D46%26idioma%3DCAS% 26idnoticia_PK%3D706076%26idseccio_PK%3D1021&sl=es&tl=en)
Scratch that - Seems like the alert on Hekla isn't true - the webcam was moved to point at the one that was erupting - and no one was told!
Hopefully MB can come in and explain the tremor thing as he very patiently did for me! Very exciting!
Matblack
19-04-2010, 20:51
http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/Katla2009/stodvaplott.html
The different plots are from different sensors around the caldera
That is the plot for Katla which is the volcano which is historically linked to the one which is currently active.
You can see over the last few days that it has begun to rumble, now that might just be some blow back activity from the current eruption but it might not and if it isn't and Katla dominoes then, well, it won't be fun for the Icelanders and possibly the rest of Europe:(
"In the past, all three known eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull triggered subsequent Katla eruptions", which is not a good sign
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0417/1224268541819.html
MB
There is only 1 Easyjet flight from Brussels that is currently listed as being operational tomorrow - mine. I wish they'd just hurry up and cancel it, I ain't going and wouldn't mind being able to keep the beancounters a little bit happy by getting a refund for a couple of flights.
Matblack
19-04-2010, 22:16
Will Burble EVER return to the UK?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8631144.stm
Stay tuned!
MB
And they've just said on News @ 10 there is no new ash cloud! Make your bloomin' minds up! ;D
Might convince EasyJet to cancel Burble's flight however.
leowyatt
19-04-2010, 22:22
Will Burble EVER return to the UK?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8631144.stm
Stay tuned!
MB
come hell or high water I expect he'll make it back! ;D
I'll be back tonight - I've got a Eurostar booking from Brussels to London.
View of 'the cloud' from space an hour or so ago:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c369/wilko1974/photo-29.jpg
View of 'the cloud' from space an hour or so ago:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c369/wilko1974/photo-29.jpg
You got back quick.
You got back quick.
Good throwing arm and a camera on a 10-second timer. :D
As a person with hugely lapsed flying certificates, I'm annoyed by the flack the Met Office are getting at the moment.
The stress levels continue to rise, as head of Physics is stuck till next week at least now, and there are a few deadlines that he needs to sort with the other Heads of Sciences; I've taken the reigns temporarily on these issues and trying to sort out cover for him as he no longer has email or any of his timetable. Practical exams, revision for GCSE and A level classes, timetabling and class allocations for next year... Its gonna be a looooong week I think! Good experience though!
Thank god I got my year 10 subject reports written over the weekend, cos I've barely got time to even do my tutor reports with the extra workload!
Stan_Lite
20-04-2010, 17:46
Hope it goes well Rog. Maybe a bit stressful but, as you say, it's good experience and should stand you in good stead if/when the head of department's job comes up in future.
Looking less and less likely I'll get away on Thursday as planned. Just been on the BA website and all their long and short haul flights have been cancelled until at least tomorrow lunchtime.
Just had a FB conversation with the local guy who's in charge out there and the poor sod's bricking it in case I don't get out there in time for drilling. He's a bloody good engineer and knows what he's doing but has very little confidence and has convinced himself it'll all go tits up if I'm not there.
Just saw on the news that last time this volcano erupted it went on for 2 years. There were small breaks but essentially 2 years! Gawd!
TinkerBell
20-04-2010, 18:49
Well this has been a good thing for my family so far. My Mom was going to have to get a flight for work to Slovakia on Thursday, then it was changed to Sunday, but now she doesn't have to go. She is VERY happy!
You are just scare mongering now Karyn :p
But Roger, they said TWO WHOLE YEARS!!!!!!
It's had well over 100 years to build up to this. I don't see it stopping for months at best, and of course there's Katla for the grand finale (literally).
What's more likely to help is a decent spell of southerly wind.
Funny how the Germans were using our airspace as a corridor today, but we can't get anything in the sky south of the border.
I shall wear a tinfoil hat from henceforth, the world is clearly ending.
Funny how the Germans were using our airspace as a corridor today, but we can't get anything in the sky south of the border.
Weren't they flying above the ash cloud?
Or is there something more suspicious going on??! :shocked::'(;)
Matblack
20-04-2010, 20:00
Last time I looked you had to go up and through the lower levels of the sky* to get to the upper levels ;)
* like where the ash is
MB
Ah I must have misunderstood, I thought Kitten meant they were flying over the UK which clearly is fine if you're at altitude. :)
Knipples
20-04-2010, 20:31
Or is there something more suspicious going on??! :shocked::'(;)
Yeah they've done it on purpose cos of all these election debates, so no one can hijack a plane and crash it into Bristol this week when the 3 party leaders are all in the same room ;) :p
Piggymon
20-04-2010, 20:35
I think they might regret this mailout ...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/piggymon/Odds%20and%20Ends/628de497.jpg
;D
They were getting above the level of the ash when they were in clear skies and then traversing our airspace above the level of the contamination.
However, it's just been announced that all UK airports are to open from 22:00 this evening.
Woop! Too late for my flight, but it means I can get home soon!
I shall wear a tinfoil hat from henceforth, the world is clearly ending.
I expect to see it on Saturday ;) (silver is allowed, Mei Mei said)
And :poke: to the rest of you. I never said I had smarts! ;D
Turns out one of the office staff is stuck in New York. Doesn't bother me, more chance of getting a computer in the office ;D On a serious note, I don't know if she's being looked after by the airline or insurance.
semi-pro waster
22-04-2010, 14:34
This volcano has certainly affected me, it's meant that I've had to stay an extra week with my friends in Finland - fortunately they've been able to accommodate me and my work has been understanding so it's an inconvenience rather than any major problem but it's still less than ideal, I've got things that I want/need to be doing back in the UK and it's completely thrown my plans for the coming weekend which is annoying as I've been looking forward to them for ages.
Still there's a lot of people far worse off than me, I'm not sure if I'll claim from the airline/insurance company even supposing I can - if I can get back on Sunday 25th as I'm meant to then I suspect I'll just chalk this one up to experience.
w00t HoD was back today, so I can start to clear the backlog of work that has been building up! :D
MarcLister
22-04-2010, 18:23
Started a new job on Monday at a special needs school in London. The headteacher was stuck in Portugal only made it back home tonight. A deputy head and a teaching assistant are stuck in Uganda. A teacher visiting her parents in Brazil is a bit stuck in Brazil.
Mum's boss stuck in Italy. Mum really quite happy about that and is enjoying her week. :D
A former colleague of mine just made it back to England, having been stuck in Florida for an additional 5 days. He was on a package holiday with Thomas Cook who have been awesome about the whole thing, organising additional trips etc.
Stan_Lite
23-04-2010, 00:35
I'm in Cairo. Absolutely no problems getting out here today - no delays at all and Heathrow-Cairo flight was half empty, which was a bit of a surprise.
I'm in Cairo. Absolutely no problems getting out here today - no delays at all and Heathrow-Cairo flight was half empty, which was a bit of a surprise.
I guess it's more those trying to get back than those trying to get away from the UK that is the backlog.
A former colleague of mine just made it back to England, having been stuck in Florida for an additional 5 days. He was on a package holiday with Thomas Cook who have been awesome about the whole thing, organising additional trips etc.
Em's Mum is flying back today from Goa on a Thomas Cook tour, was supposed to come back yesterday but got bumped for people who should have come back earlier. She got no extras for being put back - ok it's only one day.
semi-pro waster
25-04-2010, 19:14
Well I did get back today with little in the way of drama although at Rovaniemi airport they were hosing down the aeroplane wings with some solution or other just before take-off - oddly there was no repeat of that at Helsinki so I'm not sure if it was just something they implemented by themselves way up there, the weirdos. ;D
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