subDimension

Missed opportunity

It strikes me that with the giant ash cloud hanging over Europe, the UK has missed an opportunity that Spain appears to be about to capitalise on.

According to the BBC Spain is currently in the process of setting itself up as the main hub for European and possibly even N/S American travel. The UK government is sending naval ships in to evacuate stranded Britons.

The Spanish rail operator has reported a 15% increase in demand for rail services, and is laying on extra services from Madrid and Barcelona to Paris. (BBC @ 1321).

Now, I am not an Environmental Scientist, Vulcanologist (or indeed Vulcan), but how about if we had, instead of sitting around accepting the ash cloud as Aircraft Enemy #1, doing what Germany are reportedly doing; mapping and working out the limits of what we can and can’t do - we could then have become the travel hub and reaped the benefit of a boost to our economy.

Sure, it might just be that the UK has it the worst, but from what I’ve been reading over the last couple of days, a lot of the talk has centred around compensation and bailouts.

Shame.