to be enjoying the beautiful, clear, plane-free skies and wish they could continue forever?

[TheChangeSpiral]

People would get over flying and just get boats and trains instead

It is lovely and peaceful here too!!

I can hear a plane.

I am awaiting the panic buying of egyptian strawberries, african asparagus and south american nuts.

yes good point fruitshoots, my dh would be unemployed too!

would be good if people learnt from it!

If only they could ground all cars too especially 4x4 and fat people carriers.

I can hear a plane as well, I'm sure

yanbu it's been lovely.

ground all cars too, especialy 4x4 and fat people carriers.Then it would be so calm,quiet and peaceful.

I quite like watching the planes going overhead.

sorry put it out twice, merlot kicking in

Is that people carriers for fat people then? Or special fat people carriers?

And ours is grounded already Planes no bloody good to get to my parents' house tomorrow.

Looks like small aircraft have been cleared for take off now, and RAF chinooks/helicopters etc.. but only since this afternoon, otherwise it's really very quiet...

Nice.

Until I want to go somewhere of course..

Yep, I'm a teacher (nearly went abroad but being pregnant I decided to stay home!) and many of my teacher friends are stranded. Insurance companies are playing hardball on paying up for additional hotel bills etc too. One is in Tenerife and was due back today...next available flight is the 26th. Guess she won't be in on Monday then!

I'm just hoping something is sorted by the time my husband comes to fly home from Antigua on Wed, I might cry (some more, horribly hormonal at the mo) if he can't.

planes that use visuals (vfr) to fly are exempt from the flight ban. Its planes under air traffic control that use instruments (ifr) that are not allowed to fly.

sky is beautiful pale blue, not a contrail in sight. I keep looking up to savour it.

Ahhh, I thought it was to do with the jet engines. Is it that the VFR types fly lower so don't go through the cloud?

YANBU must be lovely in South West London. Used to have to stop conversation every 6 minutes or so in my friends garden in Kew as the jets thundered by. Never understood why it was such a desirable area when so noisy.

Smugly just booked our summer hol in Wales (will pee down probably but at least not stuck in an airport with 2 under 3).

exactly MrsC
wiki explains how it works as the rules seem to be quite complicated.

dh says that airlines wouldnt be allowed to fly vfr. amongst other things fuel burn goes up enormously at low altitudes.

(rapidly learning new stuff today)

jet engines will seize up if they fly in the ash cloud.
Any aircraft not flying in controlled airspace can still fly but I wouldn't have thought it very wise although I think the dust clouds are at big jet altitudes (note my excellent terminology there!) damaged engines

here is an anoraky interesting explanation