Anyone (Not) Flying Today!

[Monsta®]

talk about health and saftey overdose! they say the planes engines will clog up like the one over the philippines did, the only thing is that plane went straight through a dense plume not the dispersed stuff over the uk. anyway good luck if your trying to get away!

[Andy Millne]

talk about health and saftey overdose! they say the planes engines will clog up like the one over the philippines did

I'm assuming it's more an issue of abrasion of the internals of the engine and build up of debris on the blades rather than something that's going to cause severe "drop out of the sky" damage. Like you say the safety issues are probably overexaggerated.

[Andy Millne]

Sky over Bedders looks OK today in any case.

[Malcolm Robinson]

This has really got me spitting feathers!!!!!!!!!!

I had to take my son and his girlfriend down to East Midlands airport yesterday for a 2pm flight. As soon as I saw the news I telephoned to ask if the airport was still open and planes flying. Get onto your flight operator they said. Course who was that, none other than the Irish Leprechaun, renowned for their tact and honesty with customers! So as my son's flight was not cancelled they insisted we had to check in. 3 hours later after driving 180 odd miles the whole dammed airport was almost closed down with no fights in or out! After standing at the information, a misnomer if there is ever one, desk then being told we had to use internet facilities to rebook a flight as the woman behind the counter would have to charge us for a new ticket if she did it???????? Another 3 hours drive back and UK airspace was closed down for the foreseeable. Why couldn't they just have said that in the morning and saved 6+ hours wasting time and fuel? If we didn't check in we couldn't exchange the tickets, which are now redundant anyway!

Any politicians reading this will get my vote of they can sort out the current phenomena of big businesses charging people and then playing coy about any refunds! Sort it out Gordon Brown!

[Merlin]

Malcolm, commiserations mate, but if there had been FIGHTS in and out it would have been a bit more interesting, never mind they'll get there in the end or maybe not

[sizsells]

Well I saw 2 aeroplanes flying over Durham today heading west I must only assume they were military ? So have they got different engines ?

[Monsta®]

Well I saw 2 aeroplanes flying over Durham today heading west I must only assume they were military ? So have they got different engines ?

no only less health and safety!

[sizsells]

no only less health and safety!

Lot to be said about that Mr Monsta mainly crap mind

I have on two occassions been on an aeroplane as it desended and landed in a sandstorm they wer,nt severe one,s mind, however it was sand and I would have thought as sand makes glass it would be no different to the stuff thats apparently up in our atmosphere

[threegee]

Aircraft with piston engines should be OK provided they stay clear of the worst and check air and oil filters regularly. They are also generally slower, so airframe abrasion affects wont be anything like as severe except to the propeller tips (which often go near supersonic). Props fairly regularly encounter small stones and chippings on less than perfect runways, so a bit of pumice dust here and there will be no big deal.

Don't know enough about turboprops to call that one, but I suspect they'd be more or less as susceptible to this as high bypass jets.

Pray for lots of rain to wash this stuff out of the atmosphere - hardly a tough call in the UK!

My Nephew and his friend are stuck in Italy. Holiday extended by one week and then have to travel 100Km to another airport due to Ryanair rescheduling. That will be best case.