Doomed ! we're all Doomed ! !
Joking apart, and it actually isn't a joke, we really SHOULD be panicking Mr Mainwaring.
If, as seems reasonably likely, this bloody thing keeps erupting, and , as seems not improbable, the air flow remains NW for a few days/weeks,more, aviation , as we know it, is pretty much fecked over the N &W of Europe, with the South & E joining in PDQ by the look of things.
This is a much bigger threat than 9/11, cannot be manipulated /spun by the political lot (hence why, along with preening themselves for an election they are keeping pretty quiet) and no-one yet has any solution, or even action that might ameliorate the situation.
I don't actually want to imagine how many companies will be affected, but it can't be long before the perfect storm of no flights flown, and reduced revenue due to lack of bookings by a worried public, combined with fixed overheads such as leasing and wages (we like to hope
) and the need to make constant refunds for flights not flown (well lets see how long that lasts
) can be sustained by many already financially fragile carriers. How long for example can even the mighty BA survive with the entire fleet idle ? Even MOL didn't look so chipper in an interview he gave on the Beeb, for once he didn't go into raving mode, I think with the greater part of 220 odd airframes idle he has already found the smell of coffee.
If nothing changes by the middle of the week, how many companies will we be discussing as having gone defunct this time next weekend ?
This is serious sh1t folks
