Travellers left wondering when they will get to Europe
Posted April 16, 2010 10:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – ‘Tis the season for that dream European vacation. However, volcanic ash in the air over the continent means any travel there today is very unlikely.
One woman News1130 chatted with was hoping to get to Rome via Toronto and when she got to YVR she was told all the airspace over Europe was closed. “We didn’t hear anything about Rome. We heard about London and Sweden and Iceland. But I didn’t hear about Rome, so I thought we were kind of safe.”
She was handed a pamphlet with re-booking information. Travellers are being strongly encouraged to re-confirm your flight. Roughly, 17,000 flights across Europe have been cancelled already.
In order to get to your destination in northern Europe, Travel Consultant Scott Clute says travellers will have to be creative, so you’re going to have to change your plans and land in the south. “When you look at a map you’ll see southern Europe, such as Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon and Portugal, to mention a few that are unaffected and of course Nice and the south of France. If you can re-route yourself to one of those destinations then rely on service transportation to your final destination.”
He says the volcanic eruption that has spewed ash into the jet stream, forcing the airport closures, is considered an Act of God. Therefore, airlines and travel agencies are not obligated to offer refunds. Clute adds you might have some recourse if you paid by credit card.
