to think it is OTT to refer to the situation with XL as

[BouncingTurtle]

a warzone?

Now I have EVERY sympathy for those who have been stranded abroad due to the company's collapse (but more sympathy for those who have lost their jobs ), but I was and at a passenger at one of the foreign airports saying the situation was like a warzone.

It is annoying, frustrating, confusing and upsetting for the stranded people especially for those who still have no idea how they are getting home. But it is NOT like a warzone. The people fleeing from Hurricane Ike can liken their situation to a warzone, but the XL passenger aren't facing loss of home, possessions, and family members.

YANBU It is terrible for those people but not the end of the world.

Sky news was describing those affected as "victims" - the reporting is so OTT. How refreshing this thread is (will wait for XL "victim" to arrive to carp about how devastating it has all been and what a coven we are).

YANBU - annoying yes, but if you are unable/unprepared/uninsured to deal with any adversity then don't go abroad.

to clarify - I think you need to be prepared to deal with 'some' adversity, obviously you can't be prepared to deal with 'anything'.

it's the staff I feel sorry for. And the travel agents who have no doubt been shouted/sworn at/called all manner of things and it's not even their fault.

Yes some people might have lost their holidays, and yes some others might have a little difficulty getting home, but lots of people have lost their jobs and potentially don't know how they're going to feed their families. And no-one saw it coming.

Also, I think some holiday makers are making themselves bigger "victims" than they need to be. They interviewed some guy on bbc yesterday and he said that he'd flown into Gatwick only to be told the flight wasn't going on to Manchester so he'd had to shell out £1000 for flights for him and his family - wtf? Why didn't they just catch the train?

This sort of reporting winds me up no end. Also when they describe things like hospitals as being 'third world conditions' - ok yes they are dirty and such which is unacceptable but they are a million times better than anything you would get in the poorest countries of the world.
I'll say it once and say it a million times don't exaggarate!!

I heard that someone's dream of an amazing wedding and honeymoon of a lifetime had been completely dashed. They were devastated. The whole wedding completely ruined cos they can't go on honeymoon?

(I'm not completely heartless, I'm sure it was a bit upsetting but fgs!)

Does anyone else think this is all good for the environment? Another company has gone under (M and S?) and I think people are going to think long and hard before booking long-haul holidays after this. So maybe there won't be quite so many aeroplanes in the air clogging up the skies and they won't need to build another runway at Heathrow and expand other airports, etc.

I feel sorry for the staff who are redundant. BUT I sort of agree that this mass consumption without regard for who is paying the price (enviroment, poor countries etc) is going to come to an end. People expect a (cheap) foreign holiday as their right where as really it is just a modern day pattern of consumption. It would be good if more people holidayed locally and supported our economy and reduced their carbon footprint.

I'm hoping the 2nd runway at Stansted will be reconsidered. Unlikely but not impossible

yanbu

In the meantime those passengers stranded because of the Eurotunnel fire (DP included) are forgotten about - I'm sure they are equally frustrated as they battle to get on a ferry with 1000s of others.

Riven - how dare you make XL bankrupt so your mil is unable to get home.

Yes, it is sad that people have lost hols etc, but it is not the end of the world.

YANBU.

LBC (London radio station) spoke to a couple of kids who were supposed to go to Florida for half term on XL. They made a big fuss and got various people in business to sort them out so they could get there after all. I know their holiday was costing £5000 and I know that's a lot of money to lose and I know the children were disappointed. But when I think of some of the things that are reported on and no one steps in to help, it all seems a bit unbalanced.

It's not a related topic, although same news day but my dad was stuck in Paris because of the Eurostar closure and every flight was full. It took him 36 hours to get home by ferry - his journey was like Planes, Trains and Automobiles! No one stepped in to help him out

LOL @ Riven

HedgeWitch - Probably! But I'm not so much worried as

I also agree that the Eurotunnel fire has had much less coverage!

I think the issue of less people booking holidays thus doing good for the environment isn't that simple though.

On the one hand, less people booking holidays would be better for the environment in terms of fuel consumption etc.

But on the other hand, what happens to those countries whose main income is tourism, if people stop going there?

That's a very good point Wannabe... some places people might find alternative ways to get there, but not all!
Dh and I are flying to Spain to visit my Dad & his family (my dad is Spanish) but next year we are going to drive.

It's not that great for the environment in the short term when empty planes are being sent all over the place to pick people up!

I was for my sister who was due to fly out for her first holiday with her fella of 6 years and had to listen to her sobbing down the phone. I do feel sorry for those who lost their jobs though especially.

Well, I can't drive to visit my brother in Australia!