KLM are worse. Am here in the Netherlands and their phone line says sorry - there is a disruption and we will no longer take calls. They have no staff at the airport ticket desks either.... When I called the US number to try and get rebooked I was told that they would not help and would terminate the call as I should call Netherlands instead....argh!:mad:

A friend of mine is in Barcelona right now, due to leave on SQ377 on Saturday. The opposite flight - SQ378 - is en-route (left an hour late), but stops at Milan on the way - and in the last 30 minutes Sky News is saying that Northern Italy is now closed - though Eurocontrol is silent on that at present, as is SQ.

Depending on how the day progresses, he might be looking at extending his stay in Spain.

Although not ideal circumstances- Wouldn't mind being stuck in Barcelona:) One of the most exceptional cities to visit in europe IMHO.

Hear hear!


I'd hate to begin to imagine the economic impact this airspace closure is having on the UK and the rest of Europe. Know a few people who are heading to the UK soon, and thought the British Airways strike was the thing to worry about!

As a spotter, I wouldn't mind being stuck in one of those busy European Airports with all the aircraft standing still!

Go to Mojave Desert if you want lots of aircraft standing still...

Now ENAC (Italian CAA) have closed Northern Italian Airspace up to 35000ft from 0800 to 1400 today - though given that is in the future who knows what might happen.

SQ378 is showing an ETA of 0728 in Milan - so if it gets in, it will no doubt stay there for a while.

Meanwhile, the Railways in affected areas are no doubt enjoying 100% occupancy as well as ferries to and from the UK.

Let's not forget the hotels! :D

Well, they got through finally to Emirates and have been told it will be May 1 *at the earliest* they fly back. But, that's only a guess as they can't actually book anything until Monday morning.

They were also told they could ring up every day and keep checking for a seat, but it could end up being later.

Makes it a nightmare for my nieces schooling and also the adults loss of work / money.

I checked Qantas' website this morning and they have heaps of info on what flights got cancelled etc. and it states they 'will try to contact all affected customers'. Emirates website on the other hand still doesn't show the flights as cancelled and we were allowed to check-in online for both sectors without any warning. Thankfully, I only live 20 minutes drive from BNE, but imagine the poor buggers who drove for an hour or two having checked out of a hotel...

Can't Emirates get them as far as somwhere like Athens or Vienna?

If so your family could hire a car or maybe take the train onwards from there.

Just a thought.

Anthony T