Mhags Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 Hi, we should have travelled home on Saturday but obviously with the flight restrictions we can't leave the country! Just wondered how it's affecting other people and what they are doing meantime? Emirates have told us the earliest date they can give us to travel home is the 30th April.....trying to eke out money and live as frugally as possible! I started (much to my children's horror) home schooling this morning, sitting at the hotel pool! So what's everyone else doing? Mhags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siblin! Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 Wow , 30th! My sis is stuck in Brunei , she was due to go home on the 16th but they flew them to Brunei for an overnight stop ...ha! Looks like they may be applying for PR ! Poor guys , 30th? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mhags Posted April 19, 2010 Author Share Posted April 19, 2010 Yes, 30th! That's what I said but it seems they have blocked all seats when we try to look online. Hopefully when air space is clear we can get home before then! My son is due to start 2 weeks of exams tomorrow but I can't phone schools until after 6pm tonight to update them! I'm hoping they will be able to email some work for kids to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 Wow , 30th! My sis is stuck in Brunei , she was due to go home on the 16th but they flew them to Brunei for an overnight stop ...ha! Looks like they may be applying for PR ! Poor guys , 30th? We are also in Brunei... We flew from Brisbane on 15th and now we're in Brunei after an attempted first flight only to have to return to Brunei... Great hotel but we just want to get home. Just spoke to British Embassy and they said unofficially another week :arghh: Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neilalys Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 our thoughts to you all waiting, were not going back till 15th may, but hpe you all get where you want to be soon, anyone shed light as to where i can get one way travel insurance as a non australian resident, returning to the uk after 7 months , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest luce4321 Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 I was meant to fly out permanently yesterday, to start my new job on the 3rd. Cathay Pacific have said the first flight they can get me on is the 7th May!!!!! Bloody crazy, gonna wait till its sorted then do a phone around, see if anyone can do me earlier. Any ideas?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 The news here in the UK said they had operated one or two test flights to gauge the problems of flying into uk. So maybe the dates you've been given are worst case scenario? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sunnyday Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 My MIL and SIL are stuck in Barbados, they're not too devastated!!! Hope you all get home soon x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mhags Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 looks like things might be starting to move! Maybe soon i can get home to my own fridge and freezer and cooker and washing machine! Who would have thought you would quickly tire of eating out all the time! Hope everyone who's stranded gets home soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sunnyday Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 looks like things might be starting to move!Maybe soon i can get home to my own fridge and freezer and cooker and washing machine! Who would have thought you would quickly tire of eating out all the time! Hope everyone who's stranded gets home soon. Good luck to you :hug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykestykes Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 My inlaws set off from Brisbane to the UK last Wednesday and have been stuck in Dubai since then...my FIL is very downhearted, as the hotel they checked into in the chaos doesn't even serve alcohol :chatterbox::laugh: Sue x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest proud2beaussie Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 UK airspace restrictions have been lifted as from 10.00PM GMT. UK AIRSPACE RE-OPENS Flights from UK airports will be able to resume from 22.00 this evening. Much of the UK airspace will re-open in phases, the Department for Transport said. "Most of the skies over the UK has been closed to commercial airliners due to the volcanic ash plume over the UK. "There will continue to be some ‘no fly zones’ where concentrations of ash are at levels unsafe for flights to take place, but these will be very much smaller than the present restrictions." The Civil Aviation Authority made the ruling to lift restrictions following increasing pressure from airlines. The CAA will continue to monitor the situation with tests both in the air and on the ground. "It will take for flights to settle down to normal timetables. If you are hoping to travel, you should contact your airline before travelling to the airport," the DoT said. There will continue to be some ‘no fly zones’ where concentrations of ash are at levels unsafe for flights to take place, but very much smaller than the present restrictions, according to the CAA. The Met Office advice is that ‘no fly zones’ do not currently cover the UK. “Making sure that air travellers can fly safely is the CAA’s overriding priority," the authority said in lifting the ban after five days. “The CAA has drawn together many of the world’s top aviation engineers and experts to find a way to tackle this immense challenge, unknown in the UK and Europe in living memory. "Current international procedures recommend avoiding volcano ash at all times. In this case owing to the magnitude of the ash cloud, its position over Europe and the static weather conditions most of the EU airspace had to close and aircraft could not be physically routed around the problem area as there was no space to do so. We had to ensure, in a situation without precedent, that decisions made were based on a thorough gathering of data and analysis by experts. "This evidence based approach helped to validate a new standard that is now being adopted across Europe. “The major barrier to resuming flight has been understanding tolerance levels of aircraft to ash. Manufacturers have now agreed increased tolerance levels in low ash density areas.” "Our way forward is based on international data and evidence from previous volcanic ash incidents, new data collected from test flights and additional analysis from manufacturers over the past few days. It is a conservative model allowing a significant buffer on top of the level the experts feel may pose a risk." UK AIRSPACE RE-OPENS-20 April, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest proud2beaussie Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Be aware though that this mess will take a few days to sort out,the carriers have many planes out of position so can't just start a full service again just like that,they have to sort out crew rosters etc and get planes back to the right places before things are back to normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sarebear Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I was due to fly from Brisbane to Heathrow with my 2 kids on 18th April with Singapore Air. Next available flight offered to us was May 2nd! Feel like i've lived out of suitcases for about 5 years now! Lets hope we all get home safe & sound very soon! Hi, we should have travelled home on Saturday but obviously with the flight restrictions we can't leave the country! Just wondered how it's affecting other people and what they are doing meantime? Emirates have told us the earliest date they can give us to travel home is the 30th April.....trying to eke out money and live as frugally as possible! I started (much to my children's horror) home schooling this morning, sitting at the hotel pool! So what's everyone else doing? Mhags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach28 Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Hi, my cousin is a flight attendant and her facebook status from yesterday says she is stuck in canada and there is no word when she will get out. Rachael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest proud2beaussie Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Hi, my cousin is a flight attendant and her facebook status from yesterday says she is stuck in canada and there is no word when she will get out. Rachael I think that it's going to take at least a few days,maybe even another week before things are back to normal,carriers have aircraft and crew out of position everywhere and have the task of getting planes back to there home bases whilst uplifting thousands of stranded passengers ,it is going to be a massive effort in logistics and that's why I think it could be awhile before full services are resumed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl12 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 my sons best friend is stuck in afganistan!! he should of been home last week,hes gutted and just wants to come home, last update was they was coming home on a ship its going to take a week!!! might be different tho now with restrictions lifted. shez x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 finally back home after 6 nights in Brunei Airline fantastic and covered our hotel and 3 meals a day Can't fault em at all Royal Brunei if in doubt book with them Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mhags Posted April 22, 2010 Author Share Posted April 22, 2010 we are still in Melbourne! I got through to Emirates yesterday (eventually!) and was first of all told the 30th was the only date available. Then (after I had a small emotional meltdown) I phoned later on and got someone who was nice and helpful and while it might still be the 30th , I am in the system to get an earlier flight if possible. So one extra week gone and possibly one extra week to go. Have made the most of the sunshine this week. It was bizarre being out yesterday ands all the autumn leaves were blowing off the trees but it was roasting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadsmile23 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 My 72 year old dad is in the same position - should have flown home 21 April, just as the airspace was about to be re-opened but his flight didnt leave (as no connection available from Dubai to UK). Now been told the first confirmed flight available is 11 May! He is devastated - although he is with family here, he has had enough (not a big fan of Oz and my noisy kids anyway, lol) and today is the first anniversary of my mums death so he really wanted to be home (alone) for that. He has been on the phone to Emirates today in tears, but they have not offered much hope - have said they are trying to get together a list of "special cases" to slot into (maybe) earlier flight, but no guarantees. I know theres lots of people in the same, and worse, positions, just hoping that airlines will continue to lay on a few extra flights to cope with the backlog this disaster has caused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 we are still in Melbourne!I got through to Emirates yesterday (eventually!) and was first of all told the 30th was the only date available. Then (after I had a small emotional meltdown) I phoned later on and got someone who was nice and helpful and while it might still be the 30th , I am in the system to get an earlier flight if possible. So one extra week gone and possibly one extra week to go. Have made the most of the sunshine this week. It was bizarre being out yesterday ands all the autumn leaves were blowing off the trees but it was roasting! We're still in Melbourne too, flying out on 1st May although waitlisted for 26th (not too hopeful about that though). What have you been doing to pass the time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mhags Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 Trying not to spend money! We are in a hotel, so usually take girls to pool in morning and then have a wander round CBD in afternoon and just pass time! I had brought/ saved money for 3 weeks holiday not 5 weeks so need to watch how I'm spending it! Being stuck here is not a hardship but missing my home comforts that a hotel doesn't have! I think that when we come out here to live we will have familiar objects and cupboards and fridge with food in it! At the moment I am buying fruit and snacks on a daily basis to feed 3 hungry children. One more week and we'll be at the airport..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n111kkx Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 we were due to fly on the 21st with Cathay and all packed and then cancelled at the last minute. We have been booked onto the next available which is the 8th May!!! good job we have a good sense of humour and very lucky to be staying with my sister. So we are just going to enjoy ourselves and my daughter is loving having lessons on the beach in Manly. OH has picked up a bit of work which is giving him a taster as he is an electrician. So financially we should be ok which is always the big worry. 3 week holiday not going to be nearly a 6 week one!!! Love Sydney and especially Manly it is fantastic. Does anyone know if we can claim for delayd/cancelled departure or anything the poor dog has to stay in kennels a lot longer and its not cheap? I have also had to buy medication? I am grateful that we are stuck on this side of the pond and that its not eating into our holiday time. :jiggy::jiggy::jiggy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mhags Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 When I was on phone to Emirates yesterday and asked about my extra hotel bills they said I would have to contact insurance company. When I finally got through to insurance they said their underwriters hadn't made a decision as whether people were covered or not and that the airline should be paying our hotel.....came away feeling rather confused. I also take medication and while not life threatening if I don't take it , am obviously on it for a reason. I have quartered my daily dose to eke tablets out. Luckily our pets are being looked after by family & friends but I did think OMG if you had to pay for extra kennel fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n111kkx Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 we have insurance just with our bank account Barclays and they have upped the amount they will pay for delayed departure and we can now claim 250 each so we will get 750 hopefully when we get back and put in a claim. I am sure the airlines will get payout from insurance/disaster cover they must have or government assistance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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