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Scammers Target Travelers Delayed By Volcanic Ash
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 18, 2010
Modified Apr 18, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 18, 2010
Modified Apr 18, 2010
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With volcanic ash from a volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier continuing to pose air travel problems to and from much of Europe, it was inevitable that con artists would target weary travelers stranded in airports. The Post, which said that much of JFK Airport's Terminal 4 had become a "cot city" yesterday, reports today that two Czech citizens were approached by a stranger who "offered them a hotel room and transportation to get there -- all for $55. When the two men arrived at the hotel, they found it fully booked and the stranger gone -- then they had to pay another $50 to get back to the airport."
Flights have been banned into Monday and BBC News says the flight delay misery "said to be greater than that after 9/11 and the eruption shows no sign of abating. Some airlines are making test flights to try to identify safe flight paths." A KLM pilot said, "With the weather we are encountering now -- clear blue skies and obviously no dense ash cloud to be seen, in our opinion there is absolutely no reason to worry about resuming flights."
However, the NY Times reports, "Britain’s Met Office meteorological agency said that the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano was continuing as of early Sunday morning 'and possibly intensifying,' with the ash plume rising to 30,000 feet... The disaster is estimated to be costing airlines $200 million a day, but the economic damage will roll through to farms, retail establishments and nearly any other business that depends on air cargo shipments. Fresh produce will spoil, and supermarkets in Europe, used to year-round supplies, will begin to run out."
Tagged
air travel
delay
Europe
Eyjafjallajokull glacier
iceland
volcanic ash
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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