Freakin' volcano shuts down air traffic in Northern Europe

[Watser?]

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.

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.

BBC News - Europe flights could be grounded for 48 hours by ash

[livius drusus]

I've always suspected Iceland was a secret villain's lair. Cool pics of the ash here.

[Watser?]

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!*

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*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.

[Deadlokd]

Why not present the bill to the US banks? It's all their fault.

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by Deadlokd

Why not present the bill to the US banks? It's all their fault.

We will pay in teabaggers! Take as many as you want! Rush has already volunteered to go! We will even do a take two get another one free!

[Deadlokd]

No, we all want something valuable.

[erimir]

Except the Icelandic bank was overleveraged because Iceland deregulated their banking industry too.

i.e. it's their fault too. Canada's banks have been fine - but they also kept their banking regulations the same during the last decade or so.

[godfry n. glad]

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.

[LadyShea]

IIRC Icelandic volcanos have caused some deep shit in the past.

[Dingfod]

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.

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

On the news this morning, they were discussing a plane that was flying over Indonesia when a volcano erupted. Ash killed all four engines.

British Airways Flight 9 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them under control. I trust you are not in too much distress.”

[Jug Pilot]

Here's a video on the Flight 9 incident above. There is a very good write up I can't find about what they actually saw. It's an amazing story.

YouTube- Flight BA-009(Falling from the Sky) - 1/3

YouTube- Flight BA-009(Falling from the Sky) - 2/3

YouTube- Flight BA-009(Falling from the Sky) - 3/3

[Gonzo]

Really? The ash gets in the way of flights?

I'd really like to watch a volcano erupt. It looks fucking stellar.

[Watser?]

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

[Ensign Steve]

Oh! There's a thread for the air traffic? I posted in the wrong volcano thread.

My mom is stranded in Bulgaria. That is all.

She says "too bad it's raining" but wouldn't rain wash the ash out of the air quicker? Works for pollen, anyway.

[ChuckF]

There are worse places to be stranded than Bulgaria in April. Is she at Sofia airport or in Sofia proper or somewhere else?

[Watser?]

I had no idea it went that far south. Wow.

[Stormlight]

Probably depends where she's flying too.

[Ensign Steve]

Originally Posted by Stormlight

Probably depends where she's flying too.

Yeah it's entirely possible she was on her way north. I deleted her itinerary from my emails. Bad daughter! Bad!

[Ensign Steve]

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.

[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.

Fun!

[Watser?]

Yeah, everything here is down. Frankfurt is a bit to the south from here but still to the north of say Paris. So that makes sense.

[ChuckF]

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.

Fun!

Well that stinks.

[Ensign Steve]

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!




Edit: Damn, I was way off!

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[Watser?]

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.