My first trip to Europe is scheduled to leave California on April 29th flying into Rome with plans to fly to Paris, London and Dublin. Should I go ahead and pull apart my trip now? Things just don't look good - I want to plan some kind of trip in it's place because my mind has already checked out of real life. Suggestions...would you change everything now or wait until the day gets closer? Help!
Posted by
Orlando, Florida
676 posts
Deanna, I just read on CNN.com that KLM just did a test flight and things went well, and British Airways is going to do one soon too. So maybe by the 29th things will open up again. Other than telling you that, I don't know what to tell you. I hope it all works out because I know you're excited about your first trip.
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
In your place I would be THINKING of an alternate plan and looking into logistics, etc. In a few days or a week, we should know about flying. If you are a person who needs certainty, cancel your European vacation now and go with your other plan.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32349 posts
Deanna,
I'd wait until sometime next week to decide whether to change your travel plans, as I'm sure there will be further announcements on Monday (and perhaps again in mid-week).
As mentioned in a previous post, two of the European airlines have now completed test flights into the ash cloud, apparently with no problems. One interesting difference between those flights and British Airways 009, is that the engines apparently suffered no damage at all from the ash. In contrast, the turbine blades on the BA flight had severe "pitting", and I believe damage to the wind screen as well.
If you can at least get to Rome, you might be able to take the train to Paris and London, and ferry to Dublin? Possibly by the time you're ready to return home, the situation will have improved?
I'm supposed to be flying to Rome in mid-May, so I'm a bit worried too. If I can just GET to Europe, I can adjust the rest of my Itinerary according to conditions.
Good luck!
Posted by
Centennial, CO, USA
1895 posts
As of today, Rome is still open. Milan closed yesterday. The prevailing winds will determine how the airports operate. The test flights are a great thing...we can only hope air travel can resume.
I hope you took travel insurance out on this trip before April 14th...that seems to be the deadline for refunds due to the volcano.
The worst thing to happen would if you got there, but could not get home. There is no compensation from the airlines for hotels/food. You could be stuck with a much larger vacation bill than you planned.
This is an amazing event to have happen in our world...in 1821, this wasn't such a big deal! now it's affecting the economy of both Europe and the US, and the rest of the world!