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Massive flight disruptions continue in Europe
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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jordan Apr 16th 2010 8:26AM
I'm sorry for your wife getting stuck but is it really BAs responsibility to put your wife in a hotel? I think this can certainly be classified a "weather event" and at least in the US that absolves the airlines of certain responsibilities. A volcanic eruption that shuts down all air operations is definitely an event that is out of the airlines control.
Maarten Apr 17th 2010 7:58AM
According to the EU law it is BA's responsibility.
nzm Apr 17th 2010 9:32AM
Is BA covered by EU law?
nzm Apr 17th 2010 9:32AM
Sorry, I should have written:
Is BA governed by EU law in the UK?
Sean McLachlan Apr 16th 2010 8:28AM
Good point, but they did put her up for one night, then told her absolutely nothing. I understand they're having a rough time of it, but they could have called all the hotels they sent people to and given them an update.