Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggy J
I asked at what point will the argu errr debate/discussion stop because Flyboy does have a reputation of keeping up an argument long after he has lost it...  |
Tis true, I can attest to that
Getting back to whether or not the CAA & NATS were overly agressive with the lenght of the ban I have to agree with others that IMO there was little chance of an accident happening due to dispersal rates of the ash by the time it reached UK and northern European air space.
Back in '82 when the famed plane lost all engines it was because it flew directly into the volcanic ash plume and not your usual common garden variety ash cloud.
It has been pointed out on many web sites by those that have been testing for the ash cloud that they can not test for density only that there is some ash in the atmosphere. There are 10's of thousands of cubic kilometers of air above Europe the north atlantic and the north sea. 90% or more of ejecta returns to earth within a few hundred miles of the eruption, the rest gets thinned out by the prevailing winds, by the time it reached mainland UK\Europe I would say (and this is my guess) that there was around 1 or 2 particles @ <2mm per cubic metre and once the initial eruption had taken place and the main body of the ash cloud had reached Eurozone airspace then 24-36hrs later the sky's could have been re opened. Obviously safety has to be taken into account and the CAA & NATS took it to the limits that they saw fit.
The above is just my opinion and is what I have gleened from TV\T'interweb\papers and a dose of common sense (mine though)
As for payments for accommodation & food whilst being stuck somewhere due to the closure I think that there should be a limit to the amount one can claim per meal and per night. Its not difficult to get 3 squares a day for about £20 anywhere in Europe and further afield, the same as its not difficult to find a room for £50 a night. I can see where companies like Ryanair come from when they get a bill for £700-£1000 from someone who's ticket cost them £30.
If you buy a budget ticket expect budget accommodation and food, if your ticket is business class or above expect to be treated as such and have a higher claim.
If your on a package holiday then your tour operator will look after you.
Again just my opinion.