THE POWER OF A VOLCANO
I should be getting ready to fly to Los Angeles on Thursday. But I am not. That does not mean I am not going. It will depend on how much ash is spewing from that volcano in Iceland. The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull has thought us all a lesson, and we will take a long time to recover from it.
Although the restrictions begun more than a week ago, I was certain by this time it would all be over. I was wrong. One of the most baffling part of the week was getting information. The American Airlines website urged me to call customer services. But the airlines were certainly out of your reach, no matter how many calls you made. I made the mistake of heading to the airport's Terminal 3, and was absolutely amazed to find the entire building closed off, and with serious custodians blocking your paths. Their answers were all the same ... use the phone ... contact your friendly airline, as if you could.
About the volcano itself, I depended on the newspapers. And even they were sketchy, offering vague interpretations of the government intentions. Most seem to focus on human interest stories, rather than tell us the latest news. Even the internet seem to be preoccupied with startling stagey photos of the volcano doing its motions. But by midday Tuesday 20th, the staggered opening of the skies, which was promised, became an illusion, and only a few flights in the north UK managed to leave the ground. And for those of us in the south who waited on movement from the country's four busiest airports, we were bitterly disappointed. The prevalence of volcanic ash, high above, had sealed our fate.
I should be getting ready to fly to Los Angeles on Thursday. But I am not. That does not mean I am not going. It will depend on how much ash is spewing from that volcano in Iceland. The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull has thought us all a lesson, and we will take a long time to recover from it.
Although the restrictions begun more than a week ago, I was certain by this time it would all be over. I was wrong. One of the most baffling part of the week was getting information. The American Airlines website urged me to call customer services. But the airlines were certainly out of your reach, no matter how many calls you made. I made the mistake of heading to the airport's Terminal 3, and was absolutely amazed to find the entire building closed off, and with serious custodians blocking your paths. Their answers were all the same ... use the phone ... contact your friendly airline, as if you could.
About the volcano itself, I depended on the newspapers. And even they were sketchy, offering vague interpretations of the government intentions. Most seem to focus on human interest stories, rather than tell us the latest news. Even the internet seem to be preoccupied with startling stagey photos of the volcano doing its motions. But by midday Tuesday 20th, the staggered opening of the skies, which was promised, became an illusion, and only a few flights in the north UK managed to leave the ground. And for those of us in the south who waited on movement from the country's four busiest airports, we were bitterly disappointed. The prevalence of volcanic ash, high above, had sealed our fate.
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