A friend of mine came over from Canada two weeks ago. Having spent some time taking a colleague round the sights of London and beyond, he then spent time with his parents on the east coast, and his stop off to me was for a quick meal, the night before his return to Toronto. Had his plane left before noon, he would be back at his office desk by now, but his flight was scheduled for three hours after the closure of Heathrow last Thursday. He is at least fortunate that he has somewhere to stay and today he is seeing if he can work from his company’s London office until the problem passes. I understand that current estimates suggest that a change in the weather is not expected until Friday – so it looks like he has another week in the UK. But for many people, things are more difficult. I heard last night that another friend is stuck in Crete and there are people around the world who are unable to get home and facing considerable, unplanned costs.
British Embassies in every country must act as a point of contact and information for those travelers who are stuck. Ministers need to talk to train and ferry companies to find out whether extra services can be put on to bring people home. Further, when services resume, train and ferry operators and airlines must behave responsibly and not use this as an opportunity to cash in on travelers desperate to get home.
