[Sixstrings]

So far, the US government is doing absolutely nothing for stranded Americans. There are 40,000 in the UK alone:

"I think there are approximately, according to him, about 40,000 Americans in England that are trying, because of the disruption in air travel, to get back to this country," spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Some of the stranded Americans were running out of medicine or didn't have places to stay, said Gibbs, adding that the US State Department was looking into the situation.

Asked whether the US Navy could follow the example of Britain's Royal Navy and seek to rescue some stranded citizens, Gibbs said he was unaware of any such plans.

"We've got some big ships, but that would be a pretty big ship," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100419/pl_afp/icelandvolcanobritainustravel_20100419202509

You guys think Brown is bad, we've got children in charge over on this side of the pond. "We don't have a ship big enough," that is so insulting to everyone stuck overseas. What the US should be doing is getting some emergency cash assistance to the folks abroad, and they need to coordinate with foreign governments so people can get their meds refilled, etc.

[Nefarious]

So far, the US government is doing absolutely nothing for stranded Americans. There are 40,000 in the UK alone:

"I think there are approximately, according to him, about 40,000 Americans in England that are trying, because of the disruption in air travel, to get back to this country," spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Some of the stranded Americans were running out of medicine or didn't have places to stay, said Gibbs, adding that the US State Department was looking into the situation.

Asked whether the US Navy could follow the example of Britain's Royal Navy and seek to rescue some stranded citizens, Gibbs said he was unaware of any such plans.

"We've got some big ships, but that would be a pretty big ship," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100419/pl_afp/icelandvolcanobritainustravel_20100419202509

You guys think Brown is bad, we've got children in charge over on this side of the pond. "We don't have a ship big enough," that is so insulting to everyone stuck overseas. What the US should be doing is getting some emergency cash assistance to the folks abroad, and they need to coordinate with foreign governments so people can get their meds refilled, etc.

Why should my tax dollars go to help some stranded tourist? If anyone should be ponying up I would think it might be the airlines or their travel agency, or better yet their own families to help them out. If it was a business trip then their companies should foot the bill.There is western union you know. I file this under SH!T HAPPENS deal with it don't come begging to me.

[timmac]

Why should my tax dollars go to help some stranded tourist? If anyone should be ponying up I would think it might be the airlines or their travel agency, or better yet their own families to help them out. If it was a business trip then their companies should foot the bill.There is western union you know. I file this under SH!T HAPPENS deal with it don't come begging to me.

I agree there is more than one way to get back home, like taking a train to the coast and getting on the next available ship.

[Tanada]

So far, the US government is doing absolutely nothing for stranded Americans. There are 40,000 in the UK alone:

You guys think Brown is bad, we've got children in charge over on this side of the pond. "We don't have a ship big enough," that is so insulting to everyone stuck overseas. What the US should be doing is getting some emergency cash assistance to the folks abroad, and they need to coordinate with foreign governments so people can get their meds refilled, etc.

You know with a little coordination and cooperation the UK ships traveling to Spain to retrieve Brits landing in Madrid could have been carrying Americans to Spain to board those same planes in Madrid for return flights to the USA.

[Sixstrings]

Why should my tax dollars go to help some stranded tourist? If anyone should be ponying up I would think it might be the airlines or their travel agency, or better yet their own families to help them out. If it was a business trip then their companies should foot the bill.There is western union you know. I file this under SH!T HAPPENS deal with it don't come begging to me.

Who do you expect to help them? The British? The French?

timmac wrote:
I agree there is more than one way to get back home, like taking a train to the coast and getting on the next available ship.

Timmac, do you have any idea what a cabin on the QE2 costs? Not that it would even be available, since they book up in advance. And I'm pretty sure the QE2 is the last transatlantic liner there is.

The only other option these people have is to find a way to Spain and then spend the money for a new ticket out. And if Spain gets ashed over, they'll have to head into Africa and good luck after that.

This isn't a big deal for travelers of means, but it shouldn't be news that a lot of Americans don't have much cash in savings these days and their credit is maxed. Not only that, young people often travel on a shoestring budget anyway. You can't just say "tough luck, let the Brits foot the bill."

[Pretorian]

Why should my tax dollars go to help some stranded tourist? If anyone should be ponying up I would think it might be the airlines or their travel agency, or better yet their own families to help them out. If it was a business trip then their companies should foot the bill.There is western union you know. I file this under SH!T HAPPENS deal with it don't come begging to me.

I agree there is more than one way to get back home, like taking a train to the coast and getting on the next available ship.

Or slapping the highway with your sandal all the way back home. This is gonna be good, I can tell.

[Nefarious]

Who do you expect to help them? The British? The French?

If you are so worried drive down to the airport and pass out some of your own funds to those stranded. I personally could care less.
Leave them to their fate whatever that may be

[Pretorian]

it shouldn't be news that a lot of Americans don't have much cash in savings these days and their credit is maxed. Not only that, young people often travel on a shoestring budget anyway. You can't just say "tough luck, let the Brits foot the bill."

What bill? Anyway, if you dont have any savings and your credit is maxed, perhaps you shouldnt have been considering an inter-continental travel in the first place.That just an idea, you know, wild one , of course, but still.

[Sixstrings]

What bill? Anyway, if you dont have any savings and your credit is maxed, perhaps you shouldnt have been considering an inter-continental travel in the first place.That just an idea, you know, wild one , of course, but still.

People are starting to go hungry:

In Japan, Francois Broche was down to his last 3,000 yen ($30). The 33-year-old literature and philosophy professor from Nimes, France, said he would have to call his bank at home to see if he can get his money transferred - but doesn't know how.

"I stayed in my hotel last night, but that was all my money," he said at the Narita International Airport, near Tokyo. "I think I'm going to stay here and sleep at the airport. Help me God."

Nicolas Ribard, 29, from Avignon, France, was among about a dozen stranded tourists squatting on sleeping bags that Narita airport officials had lent them. He and three other friends had about 3,000 yen between them, and were surviving on airport-issued crackers, bottled water and coupons for one free shower a day.

Their earliest possible flight would be Taiwan's EVA Airways on May 12 - but only if they are willing to pay an extra 150 euros ($200). Otherwise, they have to wait until June, Ribard said.

Airport officials came by Monday and offered a tour of the airport to kill time.
"This is not what we need," Ribard said. "We want a bowl of rice."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100419/D9F625SG0.html

And hotels are starting to price gouge, cranking up rates to as much as $1000 a night:

Steeper-than-usual hotel prices is another passenger complaint. In Hong Kong, Busi Daniel, a 39-year-old French tourist, said he spent Sunday night in a hotel after his flight was canceled. But a huge jump in price meant he would be forced to sleep at the airport on Monday.

"Yesterday, we had a hotel room at 250 euros. At midday, it was 460 euros, and in the evening, the price was 800 euros for a room - we can't pay that," he said Monday as he waited at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' counter in Hong Kong's airport.

The Jackmans spent hours pleading for mercy from the Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach after it raised the price of their room the second night.
Asked if the hotel was guilty of price-gouging, the hotel's general manager, Alan Burrows, said simply, "We dynamically price much like the airlines do, according to how many rooms we have to sell in the hotel."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100419/D9F625SG0.html

What a jerk, huh? They don't price gouge, they simply "dynamically price."

[Ludi]

I guess just too bad on you if you're a student or have to travel as part of your business. You shouldn't have used up your money. Travel is for the wealthy.

[Sixstrings]

You know with a little coordination and cooperation the UK ships traveling to Spain to retrieve Brits landing in Madrid could have been carrying Americans to Spain to board those same planes in Madrid for return flights to the USA.

Well that would make sense, huh? Maybe the Brits think they're responsible only for Brits, while Americans don't care about each other so there you go.

But this whole mess goes to show just how clueless and disorganized governments are during a natural disaster.

EDIT: by the way, heard on CNN that rental car companies are gouging now, charging $1600 for one way rentals. It's easy to say people shouldn't travel without an extra $10k in savings, but with hotels going for 800 euros and rental cars going for $1600 you can see why people are running out of cash.

This is a bad mark on Europe and surprises me, natural disaster price gouging is illegal in the US.

Also on CNN, they're saying pilots are being told if they run into an ash cloud, they need to turn around as fast as possible and backtrack.

[Pretorian]

What bill? Anyway, if you dont have any savings and your credit is maxed, perhaps you shouldnt have been considering an inter-continental travel in the first place.That just an idea, you know, wild one , of course, but still.

People are starting to go hungry: examples

So thats what US taxpayers have to pony up, complimentary cookies and sleeping bag rentals?
No foreign tourists get them here in US? Shame, we could count it as a quid-pro-quo sort of a thing.

[dorlomin]

So far, the US government is doing absolutely nothing for stranded Americans. There are 40,000 in the UK alone:

You guys think Brown is bad, we've got children in charge over on this side of the pond. "We don't have a ship big enough," that is so insulting to everyone stuck overseas. What the US should be doing is getting some emergency cash assistance to the folks abroad, and they need to coordinate with foreign governments so people can get their meds refilled, etc.

You know with a little coordination and cooperation the UK ships traveling to Spain to retrieve Brits landing in Madrid could have been carrying Americans to Spain to board those same planes in Madrid for return flights to the USA.

Albion was en rout to Spain to pick up a UK battalion caught out on the homeward leg from Aghanistan and has been ordered to pick up civilians with any spare berthing. Ark Royal has been pulled of off exersizes in the North Sea up in the north of Scotland so is currently rigged as a light carrier and will take some time to reconfigure her hull spaces to be accomodation hulks. Cant remember where Ocean is but she is the best one for the task being an assault ship designed for large emergency berthing and with a secondary role in disaster relief.

The problem with responding to this crisis for government is that it is such a dynamic one but not really a life threatening one. For the vast bulk of people it has meant a couple of days in a hotel extra, hardly Haiti or Katrina. Also Eurostar and the cross channel ferries are working at full capacity and increasing where they can so people have been moving to and from the continent. Its a mess but not a complete disaster.

We were widely expecting air routes to begin re-opening today so governments would have been expecting the issue to abate. I think the best thing would be to start making emergency shelters available to stranded travelers so they dont have to rely on hotels.

I strongly suspect that the RN will start ferrying people too Spain on the return journey as well. You just cant turn an aircraft carrier into a cross channel ferry over one night. The government has not done too badly on the whole imo.

[Homesteader]

Here is a link to the Iceland MET office's site for the volcano. Good pictures and reports.

http://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/2010/

[dorlomin]

Led Zepplin comment on the crisis....

Ah, ah,
come from the land of the ice and snow From the midnight sun
where the volcanos blow.
Hammer of the gods will drive your planes to land,
No flights for the horde, sing and cry: Gatwick, I am not coming!
On we sweep with gusting ash, Our only goal will be the grounded fleet
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun
where the volcanos blow.
How soft your turbines so clean, can whisper tales
of gore,
Of how we calmed the tides of flight. We are young overlords.
On we sweep with gusting ash, Our only goal will be the grounded fleet
So now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins,
For insurance and bail outs can win the day despite of all your losing.

[Outcast_Searcher]

So far, the US government is doing absolutely nothing for stranded Americans. There are 40,000 in the UK alone:

Why should my tax dollars go to help some stranded tourist? If anyone should be ponying up I would think it might be the airlines or their travel agency, or better yet their own families to help them out. If it was a business trip then their companies should foot the bill.There is western union you know. I file this under SH!T HAPPENS deal with it don't come begging to me.

As a left leaning libertarian, isn't there room for something in between here, when things that are HIGHLY UNUSUAL, UNFORESEEABLE, and potentially VERY DANGEROUS happen?

The main idea, in my mind, would be to offer assistance, but BILL folks for the help. After all, if they can afford international travel, then they DAMN sure should have the economic means to deal with problems. (And this includes if they're a student -- if their parents can't foot such a bill, then they should attend school where they can afford it).

I for example, always thought it was great that in a highly unusual weather catastrophe for a region, that the national guard, etc. should be able to come in and help (as they should have promptly with Katrina). HOWEVER, I think the city should get a big fat bill for the help if they ask for it -- AND lose federal dollars if they don't pay it.

This doesn't screw up the economy, but prevents folks from random disaster where the issue can't be foreseen, such as weather, volcanos, etc.

OTOH, actions DO have consequences, and for things that can be foreseen, that's a completely different kettle of fish, IMO.

[mcgowanjm]

Why should my tax dollars go to help some stranded tourist? If anyone should be ponying up I would think it might be the airlines or their travel agency, or better yet their own families to help them out. If it was a business trip then their companies should foot the bill.There is western union you know. I file this under SH!T HAPPENS deal with it don't come begging to me.

Just wait 'til the US Army gets stranded.

[mcgowanjm]

And of course this is just the beginning.

Double Standards anyone?:

The inequality of wealth in the United States between the economic top 0.5% and the remaining 99.5% of the population is now at an all-time high. The economic top 1% of the population now controls a record 70% of all financial assets. The point here is that while the economic crisis has been devastating for 99% of America, the Wall Street elite are awash in record breaking profits. The most profitable firm in Wall Street history, Goldman Sachs, just had their most profitable quarter in their 140-year history and Wall Street firms issued an all-time record breaking amount in bonuses.

All of this is occurring after giving these firms $14 TRILLION in taxpayer support - that works out to be $46,662 of your hard-earned money. That’s $46,662 for every man, woman and child in this country. If you have a family of four, sorry, your future just got robbed and you and your children just lost $186,648!

So what are all these firms doing with these record-breaking profits? Are they returning them into the tax system in which they came from, the tax system that was looted just to keep their scam running?

No!

[Ludi]

(And this includes if they're a student -- if their parents can't foot such a bill, then they should attend school where they can afford it).

So if the student gets a scholarship for study overseas, unless their parents are wealthy, the student should refuse the opportunity?

Gee whiz.