Finally, the planes are back in the air!
Whether this is good news, or bad news, is a matter of debate.
For those living under the flightpaths of the UK’s airports, or in towns threatened by the building of new runways, or concerned about the impact flights have on our environment, it will be bad.
Others, though, who are able to conveniently ignore such matters, will see it as good news. They have the freedom to travel wherever they like, whenever they like, returned to them once again.
We will be able to import ‘out of season’ foodstuffs directly into the supermarkets, allowing us to create those often exotic and ‘trendy’ recipes all year round.
Countries like Kenya, for whom 20 percent of their gross GDP is accounted for by the export and transportation of horticultural products, will breathe a sigh of relief once again.
A few things are certain though:
The political fallout could be far more devastating than the threat from the volcanic ash we were told to fear.
Stranded passengers are going to have huge mobile phone bills.
International lawyers are going to gather massive income from litigation against airlines and regulators – for possibly years to come.
The concept of ‘knee jerk’ health and safety shutdowns, based on inadequate information and evaluation, will be more closely examined in the future.
Personally, though, I enjoyed a peaceful few days!!
