We’ve all marvelled over how much smaller the world seems these days thanks to the Internet and jet travel, but an ash-spewing volcano in Iceland stretched it out once again.
The media is filled with stories of grounded flights and hundreds of thousands of stranded tourists.
And they aren’t just stranded in those countries over which the cloud of ash has settled. They are stranded all over the world, including Canada, as they await flights back to European countries.
Flights have been grounded since last Thursday and passengers who are stuck somewhere other than home are getting frustrated with the wait-and-see attitude of those who control the skies. Living in an airport simply is not conducive for civilized people who want some place to sleep, eat and shower. Airports are expensive places. Nearby hotels are filled with those who can afford the unplanned expense.
People have jobs to return to, families are waiting to be reunited and in some cases, sick people need to get to proper care and prescription refills.
Now we are hearing conflicting reports about the seriousness of this layer of ash. Originally, we were told engines could fail as the ash is sucked into jets. Now we hear test flights experienced no such problems.
It’s not right to leave people hanging like this.
