Mixed fortunes for local 'ash' returnees

Brian Donaldson • Published 29 Apr 2010 10:14 0 Comments

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Holidaymakers from Fermanagh had very much mixed fortunes when it came to getting home during the volcanic ash disruption to air travel.

While some lived it up at sunshine resorts, merely waiting to be told when they could get a flight home and at no extra expense to themselves, others were filled with with anxiety and uncertainty.

One happy couple was Brendan and Kathleen O'Neill from Castle Wood, Enniskillen. Flying out to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands on April 10 with Thomas Cook Holidays, they stayed at an aparthotel, self catering.

According to Kathleen when the ash crisis arose, they were kept updated twice a day about propects of coming home. But more importantly, they were upgraded to full board status throughout the extra week they had to stay there

"We even had free drinks with every meal and we were really impressed with their care, " she said. "On the way home, every passenger got a free meal on board the plane."

Because no new guests were arriving in the resort, they got to know people better for the second week and not knowing which day they would be coming home meant they had a "farewell" night almost every night of their second week there.

"I couldn't praise Thomas Cook or Carefree Travel enough for the way we were looked after," said Kathleen. explaining that other family relatives there had booked through a different company through Dublin and did not get the same level of care.

For another Fermanagh family however, the same week holidaying on Lanzarote turned into a logistical nightmare to get home.

Derek and Ann Elliott from Letterbreen and their daughter Laura and her friend, Laura, had been enjoying the first few days of their break until hearing about the ash cloud which was to disrupt plans for thousands of people. Ironically they had gone on a tour of the island's volcano park the day before the Iceland eruption caused panic.

Derek says that people might say how lucky some holidaymakers were to get an extra week in the sun all expenses paid.

"Well that depends on your circumstances. In most crises there are winners and losers," he says.

His account of the anxiety and worry about how they would get home and the adventure it turned out to be will convince most people that this was not something they would chose to do.

"On Saturday, 10th April 2010 I arrived in Lanzarote with my wife Ann, daughter Laura and her friend Laura Hutton. Little did we know our one week in the sun was to have a dramatic and costly twist that none of us were prepared for. The holiday started well and was living up to our expectations.

"Thursday, 15 April was another warm sunny day just like all the rest. But everything changed that day. As a result of the volcanic eruption in Iceland airlines started to cancel flights. Our flight home was not until Saturday, 17 April, some two days away. An internet check confirmed our flight was still on time. Therefore nothing to worry about.

"The winners where those on charter flights who had no immediate commitments to attend to. With all expenses paid, they only needed to sit and wait for their tour operator to announce when they where taking them home. Even so they also had their anxieties and worries. It was however much worse for the scheduled flight holiday maker like me who booked flights online. Our situation was much more bleak. Being on a scheduled flight meant paying for your own additional costs and perhaps more worryingly having to re-book another flight if your flight was cancelled. People's anxieties grew more intense as their departure inched closer and closer. Such despair was visible. It was heartbreaking to see elderly couples struggling to master the internet in order to re-book their flight home. Even with help their despair was made worse when they discovered the earliest flight home would not be for another week. It is difficult to convey to those watching the events unfold in the comfort of their own home the level of anxiety and uncertainty felt by everyone on holiday and especially so for those on scheduled flights.

"On Friday night, 16 April I nervously checked my flight status on the internet. "STILL ON TIME" it yelled out at me. I was in luck. We were going home tomorrow. My worse fears where confirmed when I revisited the airline webpage displayed to read one simple word "CANCELLED"."

As Derek attempted to re-book flights through his travel agent, he quickly realised they would have to spend another week there.

"Shocked I broke the news to Ann and the girls. Their distant gaze, gaping mouths and total silence best describes their response. Everything had changed and the stress free relaxing holiday ended then."

A worsening situation followed with sleepless nights and constant thinking about an alternative plan.

Meeting another couple in the resort, the Elliotts had heard about a plan by Chambers Coaches to bring back Northern Ireland people. But they had to get to Malaga first.

First they had to take two flights, from Lanzarote to Gran Canaria and Gran Canaria to Malaga(they were outside the ash zone) to link up with Chambers Coaches.

"On Wednesday 21 April at 7am we commenced our journey home. However waiting for our flight to come good was also not for the faint hearted and had become an even high risk at the time. Checking the airline booking site before leaving I was shocked to find the earliest flight home was now 6 May. Our escape took three days to complete and involved two flights, two ferry journeys, a taxi ride, a 40 hour coach journey and a car journey.

From Malaga, they were picked up by Chambers Coaches at Malaga Airport at 7am, driving north through Spain crossing into France 14 hours later. Driving through Thursday night, there was a change of drivers in Tours and then boarded the ferry at Calais at 11.30am on Friday morning, bound for Dover. Leaving Dover, the coach headed north through England to Stranraer, catching the ferry to Belfast which docked at 2.40am on Saturday morning last. The coach brought everyone to Belfast International Airport to collect their cars and they then had to drive home to Letterbreen.

Of the 40-hour coach journey, Derek said, "The coach journey was tiresome and the coach was full. Passengers ranged from small babies, toddlers, teenagers, newly weds to more senior passengers. The journey was made shorter by the friendly and helpful coach drivers and the passengers on board with the chat and fun created to pass away the time. We all made new friends and it is an experience that will live long in my memory for years to come.

"Many lessons can be learned from this experience. We are not masters of our world. In a crisis people pull together, strangers become friends. When the situation looks hopeless fate can intervene. A problem shared is a problem halved. Monetary and physical endurance matters comes a poor second to getting home safely. There is no place like home

"What really matters is that no one was injured or killed," he said.

Other people in Fermanagh were caught up in the disruption too.

Enniskillen Artist, Frances Morris was in Venice Preparing for the return journey, she and her companion watched the Aer Lingus flight arrive to take them back to Dublin.

"The return journey was not completed until midnight a week later. Two days were spent at the airport with two nights hotel accommodation paid for by Aer Lingus. The rest was up to each stranded passenger," she said.

"The realisation that we could be stranded indefinitely was frightening and after two days in limbo, various ways of returning were put forward by new acquaintances. We were lucky to meet up with a young couple from Donegal who were prepared to take on the onerous task of booking an overland and sea journey for the four of us; coach trip through Italy to Austria, trains through Austria, Germany and Holland. ferry from Rotherdam to Hull (night in Munich and Rotterdam). Trains through England and Wales. Ferry from Hollyhead to Dublin and bus to Fermanagh. The quality of the train service in Europe was good and what a loss it is to us in rural areas not to have our railways.

Meanwhile Enniskillen newlyweds Eloise Wilson and Mark Stockdale, who ended up having an extended honeymoon in Dubai owing to the travel disruption returned home on Sunday morning.

The couple thought it would be May 3 before they would be leaving Dubai, but then early last Saturday morning they were told they could go standby. They actually managed to get the last two seats on board a flight which brought them back to England at 6am on Sunday and then travelled by train to Bath, where they arrived home at 11.30am (their honeymoon lasting a week longer than originally planned). Mark, a solicitor, and Eloise, a teacher, were back at work on Monday.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 29 Apr 10

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