Ashes to Ashes III
From nothing to everything in the blink of an eye.
It could be the story of Nick Clegg's profile, or the birth of
Manchester City's ego but instead it's the tale of how the
authorities closed Britain's skies until vital new research
showed our airlines were losing too much money, so reopened them
again.
So there it is - after days of uncertainty and tan-topping, UK
airspace is now officially an ash-free zone and I've been able
to retake my place at my desk, weary but largely unscathed.
The evil cloud, whose apparent hostility was second only to the
black smoke flying round the island in Lost, is now under control
and there is no danger to flights. The only remaining no-fly zone
is over Liechtenstein, and nobody goes there anyway, so
everyone's a winner.
Everyone, that is, except for those game travellers still making
their way through France, having been compelled to flee their
holiday apartments by the outpouring of negativity from the British
media, only to see jets flying above their heads.
Life isn't much better those that have been able to fly back in
the past 36 hours, given the exorbitant cost of flights from
Spain's tourist hotspots. For us, it was a hastily-arranged
trip to Leeds/Bradford on Jet2, costing the best part of £250
- bargain! I've heard several other tales of sky-high fares and
it wouldn't take much to imagine that airlines are hoping to
recoup a week's losses in one fell swoop.
Spare a thought, too, for the government's 'rapid
response' team, which has had to turn on its heels and begin
its own weary journey home. Given the lighting speed displayed so
far, we should expect to see them arrive home sometime in June.
I also hear that a missing person's report has been filed for
Stelios Haji-Ioannou - nobody's heard from him since last
Thursday.
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