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Teo10
15-04-2010, 08:25 AM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8621407.stm

Woke up this morning and heard this had happened, didn't believe it at first until I heard it again... I had thought why would flights be grounded because of this, it explains it a bit as to why they've shut the airports.

Crazy stuff:agree:

vein
15-04-2010, 09:06 AM
I'm meant to be flying to Lanzarote tomorrow :boo hoo:

CB_NO3
15-04-2010, 09:39 AM
You should be ok by then, they think flights should be ok as from 7pm tonight. Thats not confirmed though.

vein
15-04-2010, 09:43 AM
You should be ok by then, they think flights should be ok as from 7pm tonight. Thats not confirmed though.

Where are you hearing that mate?

Woody1985
15-04-2010, 10:02 AM
On the BBC news site...

vein
15-04-2010, 10:05 AM
On the BBC news site...

cheers, fingers crossed then!

Woody1985
15-04-2010, 10:08 AM
cheers, fingers crossed then!

There's a link to it on the OP.

It says they expect flights to start again at 6pm tonight so I reckon you'll be okay for tomorrow unless the eruptions get worse or the bigger volcano blows.

The last bit is just me teasing. :tee hee:

vein
15-04-2010, 10:16 AM
There's a link to it on the OP.

It says they expect flights to start again at 6pm tonight so I reckon you'll be okay for tomorrow unless the eruptions get worse or the bigger volcano blows.

The last bit is just me teasing. :tee hee:

i'm a bit worried about Arthurs Seat erupting as there is no way we will get out the street in the morning if there is Lava everywhere :wink:

Its Ryanair we are flying with and I can see they have cancelled all flights in and out of the UK for today. I'm just hoping that tomorrows flights are not affected but they have said the anticpate cancellations and delays tomorrow too :worried:

Aaron
15-04-2010, 10:43 AM
Ryanair usually have a quick flight turn around so it depends on where your aircraft is just now as it might not even be in the UK.

And for the geeky amongst us. Here is a live radar map of Europe's airspace: http://www.radarvirtuel.com/

LancashireHibby
15-04-2010, 11:05 AM
I'm supposed to be flying to France tomorrow morning, absolutely gutted :boo hoo:

Pretty Boy
15-04-2010, 11:11 AM
I'm sitting typing this in the departure area of Manchester Airport. Due to fly back to Aberdeen at 2pm, definitely not happening. Waiting to see if flights are going to resume later this evening, if not it's the train or bus for me.

Loads of people mumping and moaning around me. Of course it's a pain in the er5e but surely everyone realises safety comes first? Can't understand all this shouting at airport workers myself, it's hardly their fault and i'd be more worried if they were taking pointless risks.

LancashireHibby
15-04-2010, 11:12 AM
I'm sitting typing this in the departure area of Manchester Airport. Due to fly back to Aberdeen at 2pm, definitely not happening. Waiting to see if flights are going to resume later this evening, if not it's the train or bus for me.

Loads of people mumping and moaning around me. Of course it's a pain in the er5e but surely everyone realises safety comes first? Can't understand all this shouting at airport workers myself, it's hardly their fault and i'd be more worried if they were taking pointless risks.

Indeed, I'd much rather find out now than if I was in mid-air!

You should be ok getting the train up to Aberdeen though.

Sylar
15-04-2010, 12:00 PM
Interestingly enough, we've just been outside in Aberdeen for lunch and there's a strong smell of hydrogen sulfide in the air!

Ritchie
15-04-2010, 12:01 PM
Interestingly enough, we've just been outside in Aberdeen for lunch and there's a strong smell of hydrogen sulfide in the air!

3 people have said to me today that they could smell that last night.

they all stay in the east lothian area.

--------
15-04-2010, 12:11 PM
I'm sitting typing this in the departure area of Manchester Airport. Due to fly back to Aberdeen at 2pm, definitely not happening. Waiting to see if flights are going to resume later this evening, if not it's the train or bus for me.

Loads of people mumping and moaning around me. Of course it's a pain in the er5e but surely everyone realises safety comes first? Can't understand all this shouting at airport workers myself, it's hardly their fault and i'd be more worried if they were taking pointless risks.


Maybe they want to break some altitude/speed records for gliders?

Volcanic pumice dust will stop a jet engine dead - end of. It doesn't have to be visible to the naked eye, either.

A BA 747 lost all 4 engines for this reason over Java some years back and only landed because the pilots somehow got 3 engines restarted before the imminent nasty sudden stop halfway up a mountain. The plane had dropped from 31,000 feet to 12,000 before the engines fired up. They were examined later, and found to be all fouled up with pumice dust.

They had to land blind because the cockpit screens had been sandblasted opaque by the stuff, too. Hardly any paint left on the plane, as well.

Ritchie
15-04-2010, 12:14 PM
Maybe they want to break some altitude/speed records for gliders?

Volcanic pumice dust will stop a jet engine dead - end of. It doesn't have to be visible to the naked eye, either.

A BA 747 lost all 4 engines for this reason over Java some years back and only landed because the pilots somehow got 3 engines restarted before the imminent nasty sudden stop halfway up a mountain. The plane had dropped from 31,000 feet to 12,000 before the engines fired up. They were examined later, and found to be all fouled up with pumice dust.

They had to land blind because the cockpit screens had been sandblasted opaque by the stuff, too. Hardly any paint left on the plane, as well.

was that one of those aircrash investigation episodes by any chance doddie?? :greengrin

Pretty Boy
15-04-2010, 12:19 PM
Maybe they want to break some altitude/speed records for gliders?

Volcanic pumice dust will stop a jet engine dead - end of. It doesn't have to be visible to the naked eye, either.

A BA 747 lost all 4 engines for this reason over Java some years back and only landed because the pilots somehow got 3 engines restarted before the imminent nasty sudden stop halfway up a mountain. The plane had dropped from 31,000 feet to 12,000 before the engines fired up. They were examined later, and found to be all fouled up with pumice dust.

They had to land blind because the cockpit screens had been sandblasted opaque by the stuff, too. Hardly any paint left on the plane, as well.

That particular plane still flies and is nicknamed the ashtray. Used to be called the City of Edinburgh but was renamed City of Elgin when Elgin was granted city status.

Stolen straight from wikipedia but i'm bored stuck in this airport so thought i would do a wee bit research regarding what is keeping me here.

--------
15-04-2010, 12:28 PM
was that one of those aircrash investigation episodes by any chance doddie?? :greengrin

Yup. About a week ago, coincidentally.

Pilots were freakin magnificent - hadn't a clue what was going wrong, just kept plugging away and saved themselves, the plane and their passengers. Unsung heroes without a shadow of a doubt.

But since then there's been an absolute rule - you don't fly jetliners into clouds of volcanic dust.

Makes sense to me.

Wembley67
15-04-2010, 12:48 PM
Yup. About a week ago, coincidentally.

Pilots were freakin magnificent - hadn't a clue what was going wrong, just kept plugging away and saved themselves, the plane and their passengers. Unsung heroes without a shadow of a doubt.

But since then there's been an absolute rule - you don't fly jetliners into clouds of volcanic dust.

Makes sense to me.

Wee article on the Java situ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8622099.stm

Phil D. Rolls
15-04-2010, 12:57 PM
Amazing, they are able to say this emergency will be over by 6pm tonight, and yet they don't seem to have had any idea, until the last minute, that it was on its way. It's almost as if they're making the whole thing up.

James70
15-04-2010, 12:57 PM
The pilot of that 747 was on lunchtime news saying that the engines had been totally wrecked by the volcanic ash, how they started working again goodness knows but just as well they did.

You would think that Glasgow Airport was the only one in Scotland that was closed by the way BBC Glasgow are going on about it. I thought Edinburgh was supposed to be a busier airport these days anyway. Of course anything that happens outside of Glasgow is only of minor interest.

I hate BBC Scotland!

Rant over!

--------
15-04-2010, 01:03 PM
Wee article on the Java situ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8622099.stm


That's him. The story was on National Geographic about ten days ago.

The captain's being extremely modest, btw - the eruption was causing serious communication problems with ground control at Djakarta (they couldn't take in that the plane had lost all four engines - they thought that only the number four engine had failed) and by the time the 747 was on final approach the pumice dust had deprived the pilots of all forward visibility. He had to land the plane blind. He said that doing so "was a bit like negotiating one's way up a badger's arse" - at which the mind boggles, rather. (Mine does, anyway.)

IIRC the passengers and crew of that plane hold regular reunions - they have exclusive membership of the Djakarta Gliding Club or some such thing. Moody himself's a 24-carat solid gold hero, IMO.

http://www.ericmoody.com/

LancashireHibby
15-04-2010, 04:58 PM
Another batch of cancellations announced by BMI Baby, including my flight. Gave over :boo hoo:

hibee_girl
15-04-2010, 05:05 PM
Flights now suspended until 7am tomorrow at the earliest.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Iceland-Volcano-Grounds-UK-Flights-Volcanic-Ash-Sweeps-Into-British-Airspace-Closing-Airports/Article/201004315602425?lpos=UK_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15602425_Iceland_Volcano_Grounds_UK_Fl ights:_Volcanic_Ash_Sweeps_Into_British_Airspace_C losing_Airports

hibee_girl
15-04-2010, 05:09 PM
I'm sitting typing this in the departure area of Manchester Airport. Due to fly back to Aberdeen at 2pm, definitely not happening. Waiting to see if flights are going to resume later this evening, if not it's the train or bus for me.

Loads of people mumping and moaning around me. Of course it's a pain in the er5e but surely everyone realises safety comes first? Can't understand all this shouting at airport workers myself, it's hardly their fault and i'd be more worried if they were taking pointless risks.

You'd be surprised how many people don't realise that. We were on a flight coming home a few years ago, couldn't land at Edinburgh airport due to really bad weather so we went to Glasgow. You would have thought we were going to Canada the way some folk reacted :bitchy: Sorry but I'd rather a few hours added on to a journey than be dead!!

The best bit though was when they were trying to organise coaches to get us back to Edinburgh, lots of folk complaining that I was getting on the first coach just because I had a young baby :rolleyes:

Barney McGrew
15-04-2010, 05:25 PM
Loads of people mumping and moaning around me. Of course it's a pain in the er5e but surely everyone realises safety comes first? Can't understand all this shouting at airport workers myself, it's hardly their fault and i'd be more worried if they were taking pointless risks.

My missus works at Edinburgh airport, and it's pretty much par for the course

Chuckie
15-04-2010, 05:37 PM
This pleases me, not just because I like a good drama, but because I have a very dear friend visiting from Spain who is due to fly back on Saturday morning... Hopefully this flight ban will last a while.. Mon the volcanic ash..

Every cloud and all that....

Phil D. Rolls
15-04-2010, 05:43 PM
You'd be surprised how many people don't realise that. We were on a flight coming home a few years ago, couldn't land at Edinburgh airport due to really bad weather so we went to Glasgow. You would have thought we were going to Canada the way some folk reacted :bitchy: Sorry but I'd rather a few hours added on to a journey than be dead!!

The best bit though was when they were trying to organise coaches to get us back to Edinburgh, lots of folk complaining that I was getting on the first coach just because I had a young baby :rolleyes:

Travel seems to bring out the worst aspects of human nature.

shamo9
15-04-2010, 06:58 PM
Stranded in Belgium, luckily I`m at my sister`s rather than a hotel. Now to deal with the headache that is Ryanair:wink:

Pretty Boy
15-04-2010, 07:23 PM
My missus works at Edinburgh airport, and it's pretty much par for the course

:agree: I travel quite a bit with my work and the abuse airport workers take is at times shocking.

The one that always gets me is folk who turn up late for a flight and then moan that 'it's only 5 minutes'. Sorry but most airlines have online check in available at least a week before the flight, they also have self check in desks at the airport and a manned check in that opens 2 hours before a flight and close 40 minutes before. If you can't get checked in on time with all those options then it's not the staffs problem.

HUTCHYHIBBY
15-04-2010, 08:03 PM
Not good news - flights now suspended until 1pm tomorrow as per SKY News.

Removed
15-04-2010, 08:08 PM
This pleases me, not just because I like a good drama, but because I have a very dear friend visiting from Spain who is due to fly back on Saturday morning... Hopefully this flight ban will last a while.. Mon the volcanic ash..

Every cloud and all that....

You must getting your Nat King then :cool2:

HUTCHYHIBBY
15-04-2010, 08:10 PM
You must getting your Nat King then :cool2: More likely to be Juan King if its a Spanish visitor!

Removed
15-04-2010, 08:26 PM
More likely to be Juan King if its a Spanish visitor!

:faf:

Aye, if you were a woman would you sleep with this man :dunno:

HUTCHYHIBBY
15-04-2010, 08:31 PM
The colour doesnae suit him!

ArabHibee
15-04-2010, 08:38 PM
You'd be surprised how many people don't realise that. We were on a flight coming home a few years ago, couldn't land at Edinburgh airport due to really bad weather so we went to Glasgow. You would have thought we were going to Canada the way some folk reacted :bitchy: Sorry but I'd rather a few hours added on to a journey than be dead!!

The best bit though was when they were trying to organise coaches to get us back to Edinburgh, lots of folk complaining that I was getting on the first coach just because I had a young baby :rolleyes:

Babies on planes again! :grr:

greenlex
15-04-2010, 08:39 PM
Babies on planes again! :grr:
Better that than snakes IMO.

hibee_girl
15-04-2010, 08:43 PM
Babies on planes again! :grr:

A coach actually :wink:

ArabHibee
15-04-2010, 09:03 PM
A coach actually :wink:

And before that? :cool2:

hibee_girl
15-04-2010, 09:08 PM
And before that? :cool2:

A flight that he slept the whole way through :cool2:

Sylar
15-04-2010, 09:14 PM
It's apparently now raining down on the upper highlands of Scotland.

My field data is going to be shot to sh*t next week! :boo hoo:

sleeping giant
15-04-2010, 09:18 PM
My Wife is booked on a flight to London at 06:25 tomorrow which has been cancelled. Her return flight at 18:35 has not been cancelled.

Easyjet are saying i can amend her outbound flight but i'm not entitled to amend her return flight.

This can't be right can it. Surely i can get a full refund for both flights:confused:
If she is not flying out , she can hardly fly back !!

Anyone know anything about this ?

Westie1875
15-04-2010, 09:23 PM
My Wife is booked on a flight to London at 06:25 tomorrow which has been cancelled. Her return flight at 18:35 has not been cancelled.

Easyjet are saying i can amend her outbound flight but i'm not entitled to amend her return flight.

This can't be right can it. Surely i can get a full refund for both flights:confused:
If she is not flying out , she can hardly fly back !!

Anyone know anything about this ?

Give it until the morning, by then her return flight will probably be cancelled too with the way things have gone so far.

HibbiesandtheBaddies
15-04-2010, 09:34 PM
I'm sitting typing this in the departure area of Manchester Airport. Due to fly back to Aberdeen at 2pm, definitely not happening. Waiting to see if flights are going to resume later this evening, if not it's the train or bus for me.

Loads of people mumping and moaning around me. Of course it's a pain in the er5e but surely everyone realises safety comes first? Can't understand all this shouting at airport workers myself, it's hardly their fault and i'd be more worried if they were taking pointless risks.

They should round up all these fuds, give them the keys to a plane and show them where the auto pilot button is... :greengrin

Some Weedgie punter in an airport, interviewed on News at Ten has the answer, "tell them to fly under the clouds, cos the ash is at 40,000 ft"....:doh:

Removed
15-04-2010, 09:37 PM
Some Weedgie punter in an airport, interviewed on News at Ten has the answer, "tell them to fly under the clouds, cos the ash is at 40,000 ft"....:doh:

Sensible logic for a weegie though :faf:

Pretty Boy
15-04-2010, 09:39 PM
They should round up all these fuds, give them the keys to a plane and show them where the auto pilot button is... :greengrin

Some Weedgie punter in an airport, interviewed on News at Ten has the answer, "tell them to fly under the clouds, cos the ash is at 40,000 ft"....:doh:

I heard a boy on the radio earlier ask how it was that planes couldn't fly through the ash but could land in places like Afghanistan where it's really sandy. I think he was being serious.

vein
15-04-2010, 09:54 PM
Its Ryanair we are flying with and I can see they have cancelled all flights in and out of the UK for today. I'm just hoping that tomorrows flights are not affected but they have said the anticpate cancellations and delays tomorrow too :worried:

Game over for me, flight was at 7.40 tomorrow so has been cancelled. I spent 45 minutes in a phone queue at 10p a min trying to change my flights over to Mon-Mon but got cut off :grr: When I could finally amend flights online it would only let me change my outbound but not the return so would have been Mon-Fri so have now given up and taken the refund.

Funnily enough its my wife and me that are gutted, my 6 year old boy isnt all that bothered. He wants to look at Iceland on Google streets :greengrin

All is not lost as I've just booked a 4 bed exec lodge at the Cumbria center parcs for mon-fri next week for £300 which I thought was a decent price. Its just not the beach tho :grr::grr::boo hoo:

CB_NO3
15-04-2010, 11:13 PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8621407.stm

Woke up this morning and heard this had happened, didn't believe it at first until I heard it again... I had thought why would flights be grounded because of this, it explains it a bit as to why they've shut the airports.

Crazy stuff:agree:
BTW I have just seen a plane fly over Edinburgh, over the Forth heading north.

Removed
15-04-2010, 11:14 PM
BTW I have just seen a plane fly over Edinburgh, over the Forth heading north.

:hmmm: Are you sure it wasn't a UFO heading towards Dunfermline Tesco

CB_NO3
15-04-2010, 11:18 PM
:hmmm: Are you sure it wasn't a UFO heading towards Dunfermline Tesco
Lol, sounded and looked like a plane.

givescotlandfreedom
15-04-2010, 11:51 PM
Loads of people mumping and moaning around me. Of course it's a pain in the er5e but surely everyone realises safety comes first? Can't understand all this shouting at airport workers myself, it's hardly their fault and i'd be more worried if they were taking pointless risks.

It gets on my nerves as someone who works in the transport industry transport when folk moan at staff about adverse weather conditions. They'd be as well getting on their knees and moaning to God as recently a train crashed with fatalities due to a rail landslide and as we've seen before planes' engines can cut out due to ash. Better safe than dead.

Liam89
16-04-2010, 12:00 AM
:hmmm: Are you sure it wasn't a UFO heading towards Dunfermline Tesco

:top marks:faf:

Chuckie
16-04-2010, 12:11 AM
:faf:

Aye, if you were a woman would you sleep with this man :dunno:

Phwoooar.
You've been Juan King over that Billy eh.

Removed
16-04-2010, 12:17 AM
Phwoooar.
You've been Juan King over that Billy eh.

:agree: Every night

sleeping giant
16-04-2010, 12:21 AM
:agree: Every night

How much notice do you give it ?

s.a.m
16-04-2010, 06:04 AM
Ryanair usually have a quick flight turn around so it depends on where your aircraft is just now as it might not even be in the UK.

And for the geeky amongst us. Here is a live radar map of Europe's airspace: http://www.radarvirtuel.com/ (http://www.radarvirtuel.com/)


YOU'VE FOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNDDDD ME!!!! :greengrin

That's brilliant (and currently very empty.....). Ta.:thumbsup:

Judas Iscariot
16-04-2010, 06:19 AM
:agree: Every night

:agree: Defo same..

cheeky moonkeh
16-04-2010, 08:20 AM
BTW I have just seen a plane fly over Edinburgh, over the Forth heading north.

We saw this plane also, cause it was really loud, looked pretty low!!!

J-C
16-04-2010, 08:33 AM
Limited flights flying out of Scotland and NI, none heading south but transatlantic and flights east starting first.

Phil D. Rolls
16-04-2010, 08:48 AM
It gets on my nerves as someone who works in the transport industry transport when folk moan at staff about adverse weather conditions. They'd be as well getting on their knees and moaning to God as recently a train crashed with fatalities due to a rail landslide and as we've seen before planes' engines can cut out due to ash. Better safe than dead.

I think they're quite right, it's time you lot were better trained in switching the weather on and off. Then we wouldn't have all these emergencies like kiddies not getting to their child minder and mums not getting to the hair dresser.

It's broken Britain alright. Do you know this, I was in a hospital the other day, and somebody had died!!!! You'd expect the canteen to be in pandemonium and doctors and nurses consoling each other in grief. The selfish ********s just got on with their day like nothing had happened.

British workers have just lost the ability to accept responsibility for the things they should be doing. Bring back Franco, he speaks their language.

degenerated
16-04-2010, 12:29 PM
i think we are forgetting the real issue here. for me the real problem is iceland, and if they can't be trusted to look after it responsibly then they shouldnt be allowed to own a volcano. if it's not sorted i will be boycotting iceland and going to farm foods instead.




I think they're quite right, it's time you lot were better trained in switching the weather on and off. Then we wouldn't have all these emergencies like kiddies not getting to their child minder and mums not getting to the hair dresser.

It's broken Britain alright. Do you know this, I was in a hospital the other day, and somebody had died!!!! You'd expect the canteen to be in pandemonium and doctors and nurses consoling each other in grief. The selfish ********s just got on with their day like nothing had happened.

British workers have just lost the ability to accept responsibility for the things they should be doing. Bring back Franco, he speaks their language.

J-C
16-04-2010, 01:33 PM
i think we are forgetting the real issue here. for me the real problem is iceland, and if they can't be trusted to look after it responsibly then they shouldnt be allowed to own a volcano. if it's not sorted i will be boycotting iceland and going to farm foods instead.


This is true, the majority of the Canary Islands hvre live volcanoes and they never seem to erupt, is this because they're in a nice hot part of the wrld and Iceland, well it's bloody freezing all the time. :wink:

I was in Lanzarote a couple of years ago and ll they have is a big hole where you can cook your food in and a smaller one to through water down to show you there's a live volcano there, Icelanders, just bloody show off's if you ask me. :greengrin

--------
16-04-2010, 02:29 PM
We saw this plane also, cause it was really loud, looked pretty low!!!

It was probably Air Weedge flying under the clouds because the ash is at 40,000 feet. :rolleyes:


i think we are forgetting the real issue here. for me the real problem is iceland, and if they can't be trusted to look after it responsibly then they shouldnt be allowed to own a volcano. if it's not sorted i will be boycotting iceland and going to farm foods instead.


This is Iceland's revenge for the way Fat Gordy bullied them about the banks failing, and for all the fishery disputes we've had with them over the years.



You might say it's an Act of Cod..... :tee hee:



Just jokulling. I'm gone. :offski:

Gatecrasher
16-04-2010, 02:36 PM
at work today the report we got was saying depending on the wind the ash could be over edinburgh on sunday,

overdrive
17-04-2010, 12:19 AM
We were supposed to fly to Glasgow via Dubai from Auckland yetserday evening (NZ time). They didn't even allow us to board the flight to Dubai a apparently Dubai is full (hotels and airport) with stranded passengers.

We've been told it coul be several days before we are allowed to leave NZ because of the backlog. We are lucky as my girlfriend's sister lives here so we can stay wih her but others would have a bit of a problem as Emirates were telling people at the airport that they wouldn't pay for accommodation as it ws natural disaster and that most insurance policies probably wouldn't cover it either.

There's nothing much we can do and we'd rather be safe than dead, and would much rather be stuck here than in Dubai with thousands more.

--------
17-04-2010, 09:20 AM
The only (very mildly) amusing aspect of the news reports I can see is how all the TV reporters keeper referring to "the volcano". The papers do the same.

Can't they pronounce (or spell) "Eyjafjallajokull"? :cool2:

The Met Office boffin on BBC News just now said that he could see this problem going on well into next week unless the eruption calms down. He said it's the water from the glacier being superheated and blowing off as steam that's causing the explosions that are pushing the dust so high, and until that stops, the disruption will continue....

And the longer the eruption goes on, the bigger the backlog of flights that'll need clearing, and the longer people will be stuck in places they don't want to be. I suppose the problems are made worse because so many journeys are routed through a relatively small number of major European airports like Frankfurt and Heathrow.

lyonhibs
17-04-2010, 09:42 AM
I think it's safe to say that my planned flight to Helsinki on Tuesday morning is goosed!! :boo hoo:

--------
17-04-2010, 09:47 AM
I think it's safe to say that my planned flight to Helsinki on Tuesday morning is goosed!! :boo hoo:

Looks like it, mate.

We've become so dependent on air travel. Now it's striking home to us how vulnerable our transport system is.

This eruption isn't even really serious as eruptions go - no one died.

heretoday
17-04-2010, 10:55 AM
Sensible logic for a weegie though :faf:

Weegies don't like flying. They have to get drunk in the departure lounge.

Consequently, they behave like Billy Connolly during the flight setting everyone else's teeth on edge.

--------
17-04-2010, 11:31 AM
Weegies don't like flying. They have to get drunk in the departure lounge.

Consequently, they behave like Billy Connolly during the flight setting everyone else's teeth on edge.

Most Weegies I know are drunk long before they get to the departure lounge.

They're drunk when they get in the taxi to go to the airport.

Pretty Boy
17-04-2010, 05:56 PM
The only (very mildly) amusing aspect of the news reports I can see is how all the TV reporters keeper referring to "the volcano". The papers do the same.

Can't they pronounce (or spell) "Eyjafjallajokull"? :cool2:

The Met Office boffin on BBC News just now said that he could see this problem going on well into next week unless the eruption calms down. He said it's the water from the glacier being superheated and blowing off as steam that's causing the explosions that are pushing the dust so high, and until that stops, the disruption will continue....

And the longer the eruption goes on, the bigger the backlog of flights that'll need clearing, and the longer people will be stuck in places they don't want to be. I suppose the problems are made worse because so many journeys are routed through a relatively small number of major European airports like Frankfurt and Heathrow.

Hope it's sorted out within the next 10 days a i have another 'business' trip to the north of Italy planned. I'd hate to miss out on all the exciting business i could be involved in.

Of course the company i am visiting don't put me in a 5 star hotel with a 2 Michelin star restaurant, a free bar, glorious views and lovely weather with ample free time. That would sound like i'm ripping the p1sh out of my employers.

Bishop Hibee
17-04-2010, 07:55 PM
Stuck in Salou. Was due to fly back on Thursday, rebooked for Tuesday but that looks well dodgy now. Off to Barca on Monday if the flight is cancelled to book the soonest Eurostar possible.

Weather is dire too and we lost to a lost minute offside goal :boo hoo:

overdrive
18-04-2010, 11:43 PM
We now can't get rebooked on a flight until 29th April and that was only with kicking up a fuss - first date we were originally offered was 5th of May or something like that.

Seriously considering trying to get a flight to Madrid and driving back (not sure if we can even do that with Emirates as we would have to go via Dubai which Emirates are refusing to send anyone to at the moment). All the other airlines from Auckland seem to go the other way, e.g. via LA, or via places that you would have to fly through Central / Western Europe to get back.

Bishop Hibee
19-04-2010, 07:39 PM
Went to rebook today. Next flight with seats back from Catalunya to anywhere in the UK with Ryanair is next Tuesday! I´ll have to watch Hibs spoiling the Hun title party in Salou.

J-C
19-04-2010, 09:10 PM
Scotland, Ireland and northern England airports re open at 7am tomorrow morning, for some reason Ryanair have grounded their planes until wednesday morning why???

overdrive
20-04-2010, 06:09 AM
Scotland, Ireland and northern England airports re open at 7am tomorrow morning, for some reason Ryanair have grounded their planes until wednesday morning why???

Probably will be a logistical nightmare, i.e. getting staff to the right places - not something I've seen mentioned much anywhere but presumably pilots and cabin crew are also stranded.

Even if airspace opens (they are now saying another cloud is on its way), I don't expect I'll be on a plane home anytime soon.

Barney McGrew
20-04-2010, 06:24 AM
Probably will be a logistical nightmare, i.e. getting staff to the right places - not something I've seen mentioned much anywhere but presumably pilots and cabin crew are also stranded.

Even if airspace opens (they are now saying another cloud is on its way), I don't expect I'll be on a plane home anytime soon.

:agree:

Aircraft/crew positioning is all over the shop. It's normally far more of a problem for the low cost carriers because they pretty much run at full capacity all the time i.e. they don't have any spare aircraft, while the likes of BA, Emirates etc. will have some spare planes they can position in the right place where needed. In this case though, everything's screwed because of the volume of planes that have been grounded.

J-C
20-04-2010, 07:51 AM
Well so much for opening the Scottish airspce at 7am, Edinburgh has no flights in or out all day and Glasgow have a couple going to Cambletown and Islay, that'll get things back to normal eh.