Volcanic Ash Causes Some Surreal Situations
For some, it was a worrying state of affairs but did not actually impact their travel plans other than perhaps encouraging them to ensure that their family travel insurance would provide cover should similar airspace problems arise the next time they tried to go on holiday. For others, the situation became ever more inconvenient, with many tourists being stranded on holiday or unable to take planned holidays as the planes remained firmly grounded and the volcanic ash cloud hovered over the country.
However, for some businesses, the saying 'every cloud has a silver lining' would seem to apply rather literally. Since all aircraft were grounded, other forms of transportation found themselves in great demand, as travellers who had booked last minute travel insurance and were raring to go looked for an alternative means by which to get away - and stranded tourists sought ways back home.
In particular, ferries and the Eurostar train service experienced unprecedented increases in demand. And meanwhile, many hotels benefited as tourists were stranded and were forced to seek accommodation at the eleventh hour, regardless as to the room rate on offer.
But it was not just ordinary folk who were affected. Celebrities, too, found themselves in unusual situations thanks to the ash cloud. John Cleese, the comedian and actor of Monty Python fame, was forced to pay some £3,300 to take a cab from Norway, where he was stuck, to Brussels, in order to catch a Eurostar train to London?one expensive fare!
Meanwhile, pop legend Whitney Houston was forced to ditch the diva lifestyle when she tried to reach Dublin as part of her current tour?she had to use a car ferry, taking three times as long as the flight.
