Ash from Icelandic volcano may hover over Europe for a few days

myp · Apr 17, 2010

The ash from a recently erupted Icelandic volcano continues to cause problems for European trade and travel as the air is still not clear and has kept airplanes grounded. With light winds and heavy clouds, this could result in substantial losses over the coming days. Some worry that there could be undesirable long-term outcomes from this occurrence.

more on that here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100417/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_iceland_volcano

Astonix · Apr 17, 2010

Well, there is a good thing to all of this - It means I can sit outside in the garden and not be disturbed by fighter jets flying low above me, at least for a while.

On the other hand, this can't be good at all for flight companies, especially during this economic hardship. What is the count at now? 14,000 flights or something?

Calvin · Apr 18, 2010

Iceland Volcano Disruption

Astonix said:
Well, there is a good thing to all of this - It means I can sit outside in the garden and not be disturbed by fighter jets flying low above me, at least for a while.

On the other hand, this can't be good at all for flight companies, especially during this economic hardship. What is the count at now? 14,000 flights or something?

One would think that Iceland is far enough removed from mainland Europe that it wouldn't have an effect - but from the look of things, that is just not the case. One the plus side, I guess we should be thankful that its not a disruption related to terrorism and that it will make some Europeans consider alternative modes of transport.

Will my heart bleed because British Airways and Lufthansa and KLM, etc are losing millions of dollars a day? The answer is no - I'm not a shareholder so I don't really care. But perhaps I am missing the point here?

Astonix · Apr 18, 2010

Yes, I guess it is good to hear it's not terrorism causing plane delays, for once.

Ah well, you might not care being from Canada but I can easily see the government pouring tons of money into these flight companies which means god knows what for UK citizens.

I think I just heard all flights tomorrow (Monday) are cancelled as well.

Dirk · Apr 18, 2010

Well, basically, I'm laughing at the people flying, because I was on the train all day, on Saturday. So, er, yeah... just thought I'd gloat. I got home.

David · Apr 18, 2010

Dirk said:
Well, basically, I'm laughing at the people flying, because I was on the train all day, on Saturday. So, er, yeah... just thought I'd gloat. I got home.

Yes but until they get that 5k mph transatlantic train going, some people will have to fly.

Dirk · Apr 19, 2010

David said:
Yes but until they get that 5k mph transatlantic train going, some people will have to fly.

Haha, i'm just pleased i didn't have to. I didn't say there was an alternative for everyone.

David · Apr 19, 2010

:giggle: Sucks to be a Euro right now, the volcano just burped up more ash.

Olly · Apr 19, 2010

I have a friend who's stuck in Dubai at the moment. Apparently he has no idea when he will be coming back :giggle: Oh well I guess the longer holiday makes up for anything he might have missed here.

Calvin · Apr 26, 2010

Olly said:
I have a friend who's stuck in Dubai at the moment. Apparently he has no idea when he will be coming back :giggle: Oh well I guess the longer holiday makes up for anything he might have missed here.

In Dubai, eh? Has the job and ecomony situation improved there yet? I heard when the global financial crisis hit, that place was deader than a door nail and every non-Dubai citizen was trying to get out!

deanhills · Apr 29, 2010

Calvin said:
and every non-Dubai citizen was trying to get out!

More like they lost their jobs and then were forced to leave. Some of them had debt, and then preferred to do chicken-runs. I.e. just dumped their cars at the airport and took off.

Things are still not going well right now. Largely because of enormous construction projects that have been ongoing over the last five years in completely rebuilding Dubai and when the credit crunch struck, Banks started to call in loans, and of course the repayments became much more expensive as well. It will take a while for the situation to be resolved, but once resolved, this is going to be a thriving place, as Dubai has built excellent infrastructure, including a Metro. The quality of the roads are the best I have seen. They at least have lots to show for the money that went into the construction projects.

Ratchet · May 24, 2010

That volcano has been in the news for the past few days also, seems to be spurning activity once again. Who would've thought that a volcano would cause 100s of millions of dollars in losses. I'm planning a trip to Europe in the next few months, I really hope that volcano stays dormant for the period of my travel there.

David · May 24, 2010

Ratchet said:
That volcano has been in the news for the past few days also, seems to be spurning activity once again. Who would've thought that a volcano would cause 100s of millions of dollars in losses. I'm planning a trip to Europe in the next few months, I really hope that volcano stays dormant for the period of my travel there.

I't expected to last years. Might be a good idea to change your plans.

irahat · May 24, 2010

I have a simple but important question here that does this volcanic ash has any impact on the ozone layer or the green house effect?

Mr R · May 24, 2010

My sister just flew in from costa brava last week, aparently the cloud was still about, scary!

irahat said:
I have a simple but important question here that does this volcanic ash has any impact on the ozone layer or the green house effect?

I don't think it does - or no long term effect, the cloud thins over time into nothing.

David · May 26, 2010

irahat said:
I have a simple but important question here that does this volcanic ash has any impact on the ozone layer or the green house effect?

It'll have a cooling effect if it lasts long enough. The Co2 it's spitting out might cause a bit of warming if the ash isn't too thick for too long.

Ash from Icelandic volcano may hover over Europe for a few days

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