Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

What are your recollections of the Iceland volcano ash cloud flight disruptions in 2010?

58 replies

JustPassingThyme · 08/07/2024 21:22

I was a tween when it happened, my family and I got stuck abroad. I recall it being quite an adventure. To me it was an extra week of holiday.

I was talking about our experience recently. I just found out that the Navy were sent to get us and that it was considered quite a serious international thing.

Did anyone get back to the UK on a Navy ship? That sounds far more exciting than my very delayed flight home!

OP posts:
MrsTerryPratchett · 09/07/2024 05:52

sallyal · 08/07/2024 22:55

Awful tbh it was the end of my relationship with my father which was already strained. He left our family for another woman and had another child when I was very young. It left us in a really bad financial situation to the point that we didn't have food in the cupboards and it was the start of my anxiety problems.
I was a young adult and decided to go away with them (paid for by myself) I don't know why I thought it was a good idea but I wanted to build bridges and be a part of a family I suppose:
The holiday itself was quite hard work especially watching him with his child treating them to new things and generally being a father which he never was to me. Generally managed to put on a brave and happy face but couldn't wait to get home ! We were leaving the day all the flights were cancelled. Shipped off to a hotel by the airline but no come back as far as accommodation was concerned because they had booked it all separately and I had paid them. Had to put the hotel on my credit card that my mum had suggested I get incase of an emergency it was over a thousand pounds. My dad and his wife were very wealthy. I didn't expect them to pay for me but if they could have loaned me the money it would have meant I didn't get into so much debt paying off the credit card.
A few other things happened that are probably a bit outing and won't go into. I didn't really see him again until he was on his deathbed which was the first time in my life he ever told me he loved me.
So the ash cloud is pretty triggering tbh.
My life is totally different now but on a recent holiday my flight was cancelled and I went into a huge panic even though i could easily afford to cover whatever the cost was.
It's funny how things work out really!

I'm so sorry. You deserved much more than he gave you. Flowers

RosaRoja · 09/07/2024 06:18

We were on holiday and spent an extra week in Germany, covered by the travel insurance.

Icequeen01 · 09/07/2024 06:22

DH and I were in London for the weekend celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We had booked to go to the theatre on the Saturday night and when we got there the theatre was half empty. We were told we could sit in any empty seats we wanted. We had also booked afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason's and we were literally the only ones there. It was a very odd weekend!

Changingplace · 09/07/2024 06:25

I was due to go on holiday with my mum to Portugal, the flight got cancelled and we were told not to travel to the airport and contact our holiday provider.

They were a complete pain in the arse, and tried to charge us for being a no show at the hotel 🤦‍♀️

Luckily we had travel insurance and the obligations of travel companies were well documented so we got our money back in the end.

We’d booked the time off work so ended up once it was over going to Lanzarote on a last min trip and it was awful 🤣 we’d not had much time to research the hotel or location and it really wasn’t the best but at least we got away.

VerityBridge · 09/07/2024 06:26

We were living overseas at the time and had travelled back - DH and me, and our two young children - to stay with my lovely granny. Was such a tremendous bonus to get an extra 10 days with her. Blissful times taking the dogs for walks, popping to the shops, baking, just playing house really with nothing we could do but buy another bottle of sherry and enjoy the extra time together. One of my happiest memories.

twentysevendresses · 09/07/2024 06:30

I was working overseas at the time and had come back to the UK for a week of leave. The cloud 'hit' two days before I was due to leave the UK and go back to work...I was 'sadly' stranded and had an extra week or so here 😍

ButteryFrog · 09/07/2024 10:17

I was in South India for work, so was 'stuck' at a five-star hotel with pool that I wasn't paying for 😎... but it was still unsettling being there solo with no clue how or when I was going to get home and getting completely conflicting advice.

On the day my return flight to the UK got cancelled, my lovely Indian teammates asked the in-office travel agent to help. She was spectacularly unhelpful, said there was no point trying to book another flight until / if the airspace opened again, which she had heard could take several decades, and I should investigate returning by cruise ship - which she couldn't assist with, as that counted as leisure travel - and just walked off!

My husband favoured a slightly mad plan of me travelling overland (complete with formal officewear, heels, and bulky laptop...) from India to Turkey, which I think was the nearest place where the British navy was helping to repatriate Brits.

I went for the UK travel team's sensible suggestion of just staying put, booking the first available UK-bound flight, and rebooking if that one couldn't take off. The hotel said every couple of days that they couldn't guarantee me a room from the next night as people were booked to arrive (but as those couldn't get to India, I didn't ultimately get chucked out).

I flew home, about a fortnight later than originally scheduled, via Doha airport in Qatar, which was absolutely heaving and chaotic, as a lot of people appeared to be stranded there and were offering money to get on any feasible flight.

JustPassingThyme · 09/07/2024 12:14

Merrow · 08/07/2024 22:12

My work had a conference in Italy and there was a lot of bitching in the office among those who hadn't been invited to attend (which included me). Turns out that all the flights were cancelled, and the head of the company arranged for a mini bus to drive from Italy to the UK, and said that anyone who didn't take up the offer and couldn't get back to work when they were due in would be forced to take annual leave.

My boss was on the bus, and to this day refuses to speak about it. All I know is that the two VPs of the company had to be forcibly separated at one stage.

At one point we thought we would have to get a very long coach ride home.

I was naively looking forward it, imagining lots of beautiful views from the window. I hadn't grasped just how long we would be confied in a coach.

At the time I couldn't understand why the adults were so relieved we were able to get a flight home rather than a coach. I think I understand now.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread