who has got family stranded by the volcanic ash?

[MrsShu]

me ! easy jet have cancelled return flight

my dh is still stuck in vegas. Has a ba ticket for tomorrow night as virgin said thursday was the earliest they could offer him a flight. I am working tonight so thank god my mum is coming to look after the dcs don't know what I would have done without her as I am in charge and there was no one else to take my place.
I am fed up as have been on my own with dcs for nearly 2 weeks now and as soon as he gets back he is due to go away again

my uncle and aunt are stuck in madrid should have come back on Thursday, but staying with family so not too much of a problem, although not sure when they were due back at work. A friend had to cancel her girlie short break to portugal as the dates were fixed, but she us able to get a refund, so while disappointing not out of pocket.

Thank you SeaGreen, I've just chatted to him and he doesn't think that BA would be willing for them to leave Bangalore as they will need the pilots there when the airspace reopens. I'm not a quivering wreck but I would just like to know iyswim. I was feeling ok until Prof of met forecasting came on Breakfast saying this could take weeks rather than days to blow over. My 4yo ds is a daddy's boy and finds it hard to understand as he's already been away for 6 days. Thanks again for your help, I thought that if there was a way it would be good for him to know. Sorry for everyone in the same or worse boat.

Am sorry for all those who've ended up stranded. I have a positive story...my folks managed to get as far as Munich on their way back from NZ where Singapore Airlines put the entire flight up in a hotel and have been arranging coaches and ferries as quickly as possible back to Manchester and London. My folks are now on a coach due back in Manchester tomorrow. They haven't paid for the coach, ferry or a meal since they got stranded and there were snack bags on their seats when they got on the coach. Now that's customer service. They were flyind economy btw. I just hope that some of the other companies can treat their passengers as well. Best of luck to everyone

Pollyanna
That is incredible. I suppose if you are desperate to get home, and can afford it you do anything.

Anyone looking for a lift can also check out the Mitfahrgelegenheit website. This guy is offering Salzburg via Zurich to London for €600 including ferry and food.

Have a feeling that there are some people who are ferrying folk back and forth around Europe to earn a bit of cash.

this website is in English

Found out my BIL is stuck in Hong Kong. Virgin Atlantic seem to be treating him very well and have put him in a nice hotel. He can afford to lose a couple of days but will start stressing if he is stuck beyond the middle of next week.

Mme Lindt,
Let's hope more people offer lifts accommodation etc and drive the prices down to something reasonable.

DH's GM has been staying with MiL for nearly month and now can't get back home.

MiL is none too happy - there has been a vague mention of her staying with us for a bit (again) but unfortunately we live so far from the airport it would be incredibly difficult for her if flights suddenly became available...

just saw this thread (haven't read through the whole thing, just last page). Not sure if we're stranded yet or not, we're due to travel back to the UK monday; we're in Greece now, our 20 month DS with us. Any idea how things are looking for monday?

We've got a few friends stuck abroad. One lot are pretty lucky as their holiday accommodation was due to be let out to more Britons next, so they can just stay in their hotel having a lovely time.

The other lot are not so fortunate and are stuck in an airport - 6 adults, 2 teenagers, 8 kids and a baby. If I had my own personal hell a la Dante's Inferno, that's what it would look like...

Maria, at present the BBC say UK airspace is closed until 0100 BST Monday. After that it's unclear what will happen. All airports etc will be very crowded when they do open up again though. Good luck.

Thanks Ridgeway. So it's not looking too hopeful is it At least we're staying at my mother so we have no problem with accomodation here. But we do need to get back home for work... my DP is thinking of travelling back by bus/train, not sure if it's a good idea. They're saying now that Greek airports also may have to close, so it's not just the issue of the UK airports but the greek ones too...

(I certainly will not be going back with bus with 20 month DS!!! Can't think of anything worse actually than being on bus with toddler for 2 days or so!!)

Where did you hear that about Greek airports Maria?

DP's current plan involves getting to Athens [jinxed]

Maria, I've just found the right page on the BBC news. They are saying that when the airspace is open, the planes will be in the wrong places, the crews will be in the wrong places, and the planes will be queued up like cars in a giant carpark. The airports are packed with people who have been camped out waiting for flights, basically it's don't go to the airport until you know what you are going to.

My DH is sharing a car hire to Germany from Scandinavia having whizzed out for a two-day business trip. He just has a vague plan to head South and West and stay where he has to. But at least he can put the costs on expenses. It's pretty tough for people who were visiting family or taking a holiday.

At the moment Norky greek airports are basically open (although obviously not flying to many countries). What I'm saying is what I've heard as a possibility from greek news, this is because already Belgrade & Sofia are closed, as well as large parts of Italy. But don't take my word for it, my DP said he heard it on news as a possibility, so he may be wrong!! At the moment I know for a fact that Athens & Thessaloniki airports are open.

So ridgeway probably the best thing to do might be for my DP to get back to the UK by bus/train & for me & DS to stay here indefinitely, until things clear up? I'm definitely not taking DS on a trek around Europe by train/bus... As I said, at least we're at my mum's but it's all a bloody nightmare really.

Belgrade is closed already?

DP's 2 options where Athens or Belgrade so we'll just have to hope Athens stays open until tomorrow

Oh Norky please don't take my word for it, that's what I was told by my dad, that Belgrade closed just a few hours ago, but obviously as you can imagine lots of rumours are going around (particularly when it comes to greek society which is known for gossip/rumours) so please check it out. That's what I heard about Belgrade, I may be wrong...really sorry if I've made you anxious. Athens is definitely open atm, friend of mine travelled within Greece (to Athens) this morning.

If you have friends or family abroad, some hotels will have rooms booked out to other guests who many not be affected. It really depends, some other countries are not effected. Europe and UK worse off or course.

The hotels all have their own T&C's and some will be more considerate and offer a reduce rate to help out and some will rip you off. Negotiate.

This following information is for people who have booked a holiday and are in the hotel and now can't get home as their return flight's cancelled. This is hot of the press.

I have had some news (I hope) for those stuck abroad. If you are stuck in the hotel you originally booked into before the disruption, now some airline's are paying for the extra accommodation costs including meals and one three minute phone all (excludes taking advantage like alcoholic drinks etc). This is because of the intensity of the problem with the volcano still erupting and ash still flowing across UK controlled airspace will remain in place until at least 0100 (UK time) tomorrow, Sunday 18 April.

If you are still in the resort/that you checked into before the disruption, and can't get home, passengers should contact their airline, tour operator or agent directly before checking out of the hotel and going to the airport. Some advice is don't go to the airport if your flight is cancelled as the airline can not assist you at the airport. Pointless.

If the hotel require you to pay (and do not accept that the airline will cover costs) use your credit card to make any additional costs in the hotel, and keep the receipts, to get a refund from the airline, insurance company or credit card company.

Try this page for airspace closures:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8626505.stm

Am in South Carolina. Have fab weather and a pool so all good for the moment, but as this thing drags into next week it's looking tedious - kids are due back at school (and some early gcses next week!), we at work and the dog has been in the kennels forever! Does anyone know how they prioritise the passengers? Will those stranded since Thursday be first to fly?

Ridgeway, thanks for that. So according to that webpage, Serbia is affected (obviously that includes Belgrade). But it says Serbia is partially closed, so depends what that means. Greece, Spain, Bulgaria & Turkey remain open.

Quick check and Belgrade still open but may close today which will probably mean no flight for DP (not sure of the timings)

So now waiting for Athens

This is so ridiculous isn't it?