Volcano?

[nicole]

So I am due to fly out to visit my SO on Sunday, but due to the Volcanic eruption in Iceland, my flight may get cancelled. the ash cloud is currently over Scotland, and all but one Airline (Ryannair) has cancelled all their morning flights too and from Scotland. The cloud is due to hit northern England (where I am flying out from- Manchester) tomorrow, and will probably hit Spain and France by the end of the week.

They are saying the flights may not be disrupted as much due to the fact that the ash particles are heavier then the eruption which took place last year, and therefore fall to the ground quicker. The papers of course are reporting "THOUSANDS" of people could be effected, whilst the airports are saying it won't be bad. It's hard to tell who to believe. I am going between freaking out and believing everything will be alright now.

Last year, my parents almost didn't make it over because of the other volcano- I would have been trapped in New York City by myself for a week, but thankfully they made it just before the other flights got cancelled. This Christmas, my SO nearly didn't make it out because of all the snow, both in America and England, but he somehow made it out too. Is it so much to ask to have a trip where I'm not anxious and worrying beforehand? I thought summer, all there is to worry about is a few thunderstorms, but no. Volcano in a country I'm not even going to has to throw a spanner in the works.

/ end vent

Are anyone else's travel plans being disrupted by the volcano and airport closures?

[13000km]

My mum flies to Boston via London next weekend before flying to meet me in Oregon the weekend after that. If she gets stuck anywhere along the way it's going to affect the whole trip as she's only staying for 5 days in Oregon with me before she flies home without me. We're hoping for the best for everyone!

[elina]

Not affecting me but my sister's due to fly to Edinburgh from Tampere (Finland) with Ryanair this Sunday.. She's going on a holiday that she's reaaaally really looking forward to and deserves it so I'd be quite gutted for her if she can't go. Ryanair, like you said, is still flying but I'm a bit concerned.. :/ Hopefully they'll really make the right decision whether to fly or not.. that it's actually safe enough to fly.

The ash cloud might be gone by Sunday anyway though.. Hopefully it will be so you can go see your so as well, nicole! I'm keeping my fingers crossed

..kinda funny with all these things that happen. The last year's volcano was good for me and Sam because he couldn't get out of Finland.. and so was the winter with all the snow because he was stuck here again but it's not nice at all for the ones whose plans get ruined.. >_<

[Holiday]

Which airline are you supposed to be flying with? I've been checking compulsively all morning to see if my SO's flight was going to leave from Dublin (it did, it was just delayed by about 30 of the most. stressful. minutes. ever.) and it looks like airlines have cancelled the rest of their flights to Scotland today, but they still seem to be flying to and from England, just with delays. From news reports, it sounds like the ash cloud isn't really creating a permanent cover so much as blanketing for a while then blowing out, so you might be in the clear in England by Sunday if it's supposed to blow toward France and Spain over the next few days. Plus, British airspace hasn't been closed. Keep checking the airport website for new announcements, and maybe try this site the day of or the day before you're supposed to leave, it's great at giving up-to-date information on flights: https://www.flightstats.com/go/home.do

Natural events like this and the snow are the most frustrating thing to deal with when you're days away from a visit because the timing couldn't be worse. I was thinking the same exact thing you did about a Summer visit not being affected because there'd be no snow this time. Again, I really hope everything works out for you! Hang in there and good luck!

[Malaga]

God I'm so sorry. I know things like these make you think if the whole universe just conspired against you. I got trapped in Snowmaggedon last January when I was flying to the US, had to spend the night in Washington DC before catching my connecting flight.
Then I got trapped by the volcano when I was supposed to fly out of the US. Luckily I wasn't locked at the airport, I just had to fly at a later date.

But this December I was stranded the whole day at Gatwick after visiting my boyfriend, when all those flights got cancelled due to snow. Worst thing was I was sick as a dog and running a very high fever that even made me faint, honestly felt like I was going to kick the bucket there and then. Only about 10% flights went out that day and I was one of the lucky few, but I didn't know until the last minute and had to wait for over 8 hours. My boyfriend was lingering in the airport lobby for that whole time as he refused to leave until he knew what was going to happen with my flight.
That departure lounge looked post-apocalyptic, like a refugee camp. Huge crowds everywhere, all the duty free shops raided and people munching on pralines and downing whiskey to ease their nerves. Information boards were flashing flight information from 4 days ago. Nobody knew what the hell was going on.

[nicole]

Thanks for the well wishes guys I looked at a map of where they are expecting the cloud to move, seems like there is only a thin strip going across the UK, and it does look like it's not going to go over Manchester. I must hope that the wind stays blowing in the same direction.

@Holiday: thanks for the link!

I hope everybody on here and their loved ones stay unaffected too, wishing Mother Nature would stop pmsing, I think the world needs a break!