Funnily enough - I work in IT support, so when thinking about disruption possibilities - I'm likely to weather ATC snafus (I know what Severity 1 incidents are like from the other side)... but thanks for all the advice.
Sticking to quieter airlines, times and IATA carriers... I'll definitely do that.
Also - methinks I'd be relying on travel agents to handle the bookings... are us first-timers more likely to stick to doing things the traditional way? My contract being with THomas Cook rather than 6 different organisations?