The ash cloud from the Iceland volcano has revealed the weakness and instability of international air travel--and the governments that both support and regulate it
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I wonder if any military establishments have done any contingency planning against such occurrences in the middle of a war? Should have SF writers on staff!
Well, if they haven't they should've. F'rinstance, wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan go to (maybe among other places, this is the one I know about) an AFB in Germany, and then here. Ash doesn't give a flip whether it's entering a civilian or a military turbine engine...so are the C5As still evacuating wounded and risking a crash into the mountains of SE Europe? Or...what?
In the old days (WWII) there'd have been a full-service Navy hospital ship offshore. Now, someone would be trying to blow it up. (They were then, too, according to nurse friends of my mother. Different 'they' but just as determined.)
I admit I found it intriguing that the Brits evacuated a sick person in eatern Scotland by military helicopter to a hospital in London because fixed-wing aircraft weren't flying and the only alternative, they said, was by car. Um...it's not that big a country.
Last I heard injured personnel were being flown to Andrews AFB via the southern route and taken to Walter Reed or Bethesda Naval (and thus we will notice more planes and coptors in our area).
'Not that big' equals a journey of six or seven hundred miles, and travel times of probably eight to ten hours - that's plenty big enough for someone ill enough to need a London hospital. (If Edinburgh can't handle the case, it's _serious_ stuff.)
If the 'Eastern Scotland' in question was up in the highlands, add several hours - there are many places where dual carriageways are just distant dreams, and a local diversion can easily add another fifty miles or more to your journey...
This is an enormous, giant economy-sized version of a small problem I had traveling by train about twenty years ago. On my way from Seattle to Chicago on Amtrak's Empire Builder in June, we traveled through some 90+ degree temperatures through eastern Montana and North Dakota
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The same reason why "leaves on the line" in the UK cause drastic delays. In autumn (fall) there are leaves every year, right? It's been happening for millions of years. And they know that "the wrong sort of leaves" (soggy ones) on the tracks cause the trains to slip, this has been known for at least 150 years. But still that's the excuse every year...
It's greed. Planning ahead costs money, whereas passenger delays don't (or cost less, they have loads of clauses absolving them from most compensation). As far as transport companies are concerned the only purpose of passengers is to give them money.
"Leaves on the line" has a technical element. Trains used to use clasp brakes acting on the tyre surfaces, which kept them clean. These days it's mostly regen, with discs for final stopping, neither of which act on the tyres. So being environmentally conscious contributes to the problem...
To be fair there has been some effort to plan for these events. The VAAC was set up in the 90's.
The airspace was closed by the respective governments, several of the carriers have at least said they would like to fly but can't because of the shut down (though even if they could they probably would because of insurance and cost concerns).
The truth is that these sort of events are so rare that it's not really worth the time and effort to set up plans to deal with it.
I really shocked watching the trouble and harassment of passengers. The loss if form the both side,the passengers as well as the AIRLINES Companies. DIRECT TV brought me all the updates of the incident.
The airlines want the attention to be all on them for the money they're losing....but it's the passengers who are really suffering, immediately and personally. The treatment of air passengers, especially in international flights, is already inhumane...being jammed into airports without resources and under the constant bullying of security personnel (and airline personnel who have less patience than they want passengers to show) is far more than "inconvenience."
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Should have SF writers on staff!
bring back dirigibles!
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In the old days (WWII) there'd have been a full-service Navy hospital ship offshore. Now, someone would be trying to blow it up. (They were then, too, according to nurse friends of my mother. Different 'they' but just as determined.)
I admit I found it intriguing that the Brits evacuated a sick person in eatern Scotland by military helicopter to a hospital in London because fixed-wing aircraft weren't flying and the only alternative, they said, was by car. Um...it's not that big a country.
There are people I WISH were stranded in Iceland.
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If the 'Eastern Scotland' in question was up in the highlands, add several hours - there are many places where dual carriageways are just distant dreams, and a local diversion can easily add another fifty miles or more to your journey...
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It's greed. Planning ahead costs money, whereas passenger delays don't (or cost less, they have loads of clauses absolving them from most compensation). As far as transport companies are concerned the only purpose of passengers is to give them money.
Reply
Reply
The airspace was closed by the respective governments, several of the carriers have at least said they would like to fly but can't because of the shut down (though even if they could they probably would because of insurance and cost concerns).
The truth is that these sort of events are so rare that it's not really worth the time and effort to set up plans to deal with it.
Reply
Reply
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