to think that it's not the government's responsibility to rescue stranded holidaymakers?

[wannaBe]

I understand why the government are doing it and I think that it's good that they are trying to help.

But tonight I was listening to a report on people who went to somewhere on the spanish coast to get on a boat, and when the boat was full, there were people being interviewed saying "well the government should be doing more, this is just not good enough" etc etc.

Thing is, this is just unfortunate - it's not the government's fault that there's dust in the atmosphere and that people can't get home.

And while it's inconvenient, sometimes, these things just happen. And nobody died or is dying.

And they'll all get home eventually.

Did you hear that Seaworld in Florida are giving free tickets to people with UK, Irish and European passports.

I thought that was a nice gesture (has nothing to do with this thread though).

There was one story of people being kicked out of hotel rooms already paid for at, say £50 per night to be told they'd need to re-book at £200 per night. My figures may be wrong but that was teh gist.

said - that is profiteering. Not nice.

I'm liaising with DH at the moment to try to get him back across the pond as they have no internet access. Looking like US, then somewhere in Europe is best bet. Trying to get him to France instead of Spain, but not sure how well that's going to work out.

Travel Insurance usually dodges behind the "act of God" clause when it comes to things like this.

It's pretty scary, people with babies who are stranded with no supplies, people who have just run completely out of cash sleeping on airport floors with young children.

Agree with poster that said countries should be agreeing on some sort of aid guidelines rather than (some) unpleasant hotels/companies just hiking up their prices to make the most of it.

There should also be some sort of deal with Oddbins to supply Pinot Grigio to those of us whose husbands are stranded abroad leaving us to cope alone with 3 DCs for the next few weeks!!

Yes a pinot pipeline would be entirely reasonable given your predicament invino!

Bit late to this but the elderly piano examiner wasn't moaning or expecting anyone to help him. He sorted things out for himself and his wife.

The elderly piano examiner was fab! I vote him for PM - sense of humour, sense of responsibility, and some gung ho spirit.

The parents of a little girl in my class are stuck in New York. They only went for a mini break, leaving daughter with Grandma. They've been told the earliest they can get a flight is a week on saturday.

In reply to a few posts asking this: British Embassies and Consulates DO give loans to British citizens who are stuck abroad and have run out of money.

To get the loan, you just need to visit your nearest Embassy or Consulate... even if you've lost your passport/I.D., they'll look you up to confirm you are British. You pay the loan back once you're home.

The Foreign Office does look after Brits to that extent - nobody should be sleeping rough because they've run out of money. Maybe those people sleeping in railways/airports stayed there in the hope of the travel situation changing/getting tickets/information?

I agree, this expectation of the government to pick everyone up and take them home is far-fetched. It's also quite hypocritical, considering how many complain about taxes being spent unnecessarily.

it's an interesting one isn't it.

if i had been stuck in spain i would be happy to wait it out but friends of mine who are stuck in Rome etc... have been told by their work "get on a train and get back asap". so with their babies and toddlers they are having to go cross europe on trains/taxis/buses etc. they work for IT companies, the economy will not crash without them, why not just wait a few more days??

it sounds easy enough to get back from europe, but if you're travelling with young children it is hard enough flying, never mind travelling day and night not knowing quite when you will sleep or eat.

YANBU

If there are people stranded somewhere where there is no commercial alternative, then yes the Navy should be deployed to assist them.

Otherwise it is not the government's responsibility to organise the repatriation. They are not in danger, they are not in a war zone.

Have a look on the stranded thread, there are dozens of families working their way across Europe, finding the best way and just getting on with it. None of them are moaning about not getting government help.

QOD, couldn't you have got a direct ferry from Bergen (iirc they go from Bergen to Newcastle) or from Hamburg?

I vote that passports in future should only be issued to those able to demonstrate they have sufficient common sense to cope if stranded when abroad.

I do think that the Govt has the responsiblity to rescue people when there is a natural disaster or they get stuck in a war zone, coup or other violent situation. In those situations people might have lost all their identity papers, money and means of communication. They may be severely injured or surrounded by armed forces/gangs.

There is no way people can rescue themselves in those situations when it is no fault of theirs. Remember, it is the UK Govt that shut the UK airspace. What are they going to do - build their own boat and sail home?

Airports just opened by the look of the BBC website!

If they rang the FCO helpline they would be given advice on how best to get out of xxxx.
Maybe the FCO number should be printed in passports !
The Forces coming back have been taken care of and quite rightly so.... They have then given spare space to civilians.
What about the people in the Uk who are working extra shifts to cover those of colleagues stranded? I am sure there must be loads.....
Also those on Oil rigs who are there long stretches of time and who can't get off. The list is endless.
Many people have just got on with it and good for them . Good luck to everybody else stranded and if needed send the troops in

Stanley Johnson (father of Boris) obviously just happened to be lucky enough to 'catch a lift' on a passing Royal Navy ship. Nothing to do with strings being pulled I'm sure ....

I do think that the government should assist those stranded though. I have close family who have been 'stranded' in America for the past 5 days, and they have had a nightmare trying to access information on what is happening. One of them is a teacher, whose school is struggling to find cover.

Try and put yourself in other peoples shoes.

It hasn't been that easy to get out of Spain - my sister was stuck in Madrid. She should have flown on Thursday, but all flghts to uk cancelled. So she decided to get a flight to France (Paris). No flights available until Friday, so she booked one for Friday but then flights to France were cancelled. So she rebooked for Sunday, but then flights to France still not running. She then looked at train options, but due to the French train strikes this proved quite difficult.

She finally got a train today to the South of France, and is staying overnight there, then getting a train to Poitiers, then another one to somewhere just outside Tours.

Meanwhile her husband has come over with the car from Portsmouth to Caen, and is driving to pick her up. She just wasn't able to get a train to Paris, or any of the French ports, but at least is making some progress now.

I don't think that it is the Government's responsibility to rescue people who are not in some dire catastrophic situation - but I DO think they should be providing more information, and coordinating things better.

They could have worked with Eurostar and SouthEast Trains to provide a fast shuttle service between Lille or Calais and Ashford, with SouthEastern providing onward shuttles into London.

And the French Government should be putting pressure on SNCF to stop their staff striking, and to coordinate rail services to Calais. It needs someone with some creative thinking to get things moving - and to be honest, that is probably better done by management in the travel industry than by Government - as the fact that Thompson have already flown in several airplanes full of repatriated Brits, plus are using cruise ships, whereas the UK Government has managed two ships total.

There are some areas of Europe that have been easier to get home from than others, that is true and Spain seems to be one of them.

If anyone is struggling to get folk home, check out the stranded thread on here, there is loads of good info there.

Spain is one of the areas that is difficult to get home from, that should read.

The reason why so many people were upset about not getting on the Navy ship in Santander is that they were being advised BY THE GOVERNMENT to go there. When Gordon Brown says a hundred coaches are IN Madrid to get British people home, he was lying because those coaches were not there, and people were given false assurances. People get upset - as StayingDT'sgirl says - is because the information they are getting is contradictory.

The DM is now reporting that the HMS Albion is in fact taking all stranded passengers from Santander back to UK.