Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe
A volcanic eruption in Iceland has brought air traffic to a standstill all over Northern Europe, from Ireland to Finland and as far south as Northern France and Berlin.
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The UK, Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands closed their airspaces.
France shut down 24 airports in the north of the country, including the main hub of Paris-Charles de Gaulle, while Germany's Berlin and Hamburg airports were also closed on Thursday evening.
Re: Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe
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Originally Posted by livius drusus
I've always suspected Iceland was a secret villain's lair. Cool pics of the ash here.
Cartoon in the evening paper today said: So that's where our money went!*
*A major Icelandic bank went bankrupt, it had a lot of British and Dutch clients who got their money back from their respective governments who presented the bill to the Icelandic gov't. The Icelandic people referendum'd against paying it.
Re: Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe
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Originally Posted by livius drusus
I've always suspected Iceland was a secret villain's lair. Cool pics of the ash here.
Yeah...cool...
I pity the poor dumb sods who were unlucky enough to be downwind of that ash cloud. During the Mt. St. Helens event, the wind shifted our way only a couple of brief intervals, leaving inches of accumulated ash. I even was even acting in an outdoor play which has the rare distinction of having the performance 'ashed out'.
That crap is tough to get rid of, in that it has the particulate size of talcum, but enough of it is basically itty-bitty glass shards that it is dangerous to many things, like delicate machinery and your lungs.
Re: Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe
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Originally Posted by LadyShea
IIRC Icelandic volcanos have caused some deep shit in the past.
I read where an eruption in 1703 killed 9000 people in Iceland, many due to the famine that followed, and many tens of thousands from a toxic cloud that spread over Europe.
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Re: Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe
The path keeps changing and some countries like Ireland are no longer affected or not all over like the UK, but at least Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands are still completely fucked, plus some others have been added like the Baltic states and Poland. BBC has maps and lists here: BBC News - Europe flights could be grounded into weekend by ash
Re: Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe
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Originally Posted by ChuckF
There are worse places to be stranded than Bulgaria in April. Is she at Sofia airport or in Sofia proper or somewhere else?
She's stuck at least overnight, so I imagine she's not hanging out in the airport itself, but yeah, probably Sofia somewhere. I think that's where she goes.
Re: Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe
Okay, I have the deets! She's in Sofia, at the hotel. It's too cold and rainy to go out, she says. It's not her first or last visit, so it's not like it's a total waste, but damn I still feel like I'd grab an umbrella and coat. But I don't travel near as much as she does.
Anyway! Sofia is open for now, but she was scheduled to fly to Frankfurt, which is closed. She said all the airports in the north part of Europe are closed. And that the ash cloud is still moving south, so she's not hopeful about flying tomorrow, either.
Re: Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe
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Originally Posted by Ensign Steve
Okay, I have the deets! She's in Sofia, at the hotel. It's too cold and rainy to go out, she says. It's not her first or last visit, so it's not like it's a total waste, but damn I still feel like I'd grab an umbrella and coat. But I don't travel near as much as she does.
Anyway! Sofia is open for now, but she was scheduled to fly to Frankfurt, which is closed. She said all the airports in the north part of Europe are closed. And that the ash cloud is still moving south, so she's not hopeful about flying tomorrow, either.
Re: Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe
My issue was I had no idea where Bulgaria is, so when she said she was stuck, I assumed it was way up north. Damn you all and your ability to make me learn new things!
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Yeah, that's why I was so surprised that she would be stranded way down there.
Btw, that map still has Bonn as the German capital.
Hmmm, no it just throws the squares out at random it looks like. Unless Barcelona is the capital of Spain and Germany has two capitals. And all the other capitals would be in the wrong place too.