Pain in the Ash
Posted by Ryan Klemm on Fri, Apr 16, 2010 @ 10:48
Iceland is 1,500 miles away from Germany, yet presently the ash-cloud from the erupting Eyjafjallajoekull volcano has spread even further over northern Europe and shut down virtually all air traffic and closed airports everywhere.
Eyjafjallajoekull
Photo: AP
Coincidentally, the wire & Tube Düsseldorf trade fair closed its doors today to industry accolades. Around 69,200 trade visitors from over 100 nations paid a visit to Düsseldorf this past week to see the very latest advancements in wire, cable, tube, and pipe manufacturing on display by 2,400 exhibitors from around the world.
The mood at the show was downright positive as a consensus emerged that perhaps the lousy economic situation that has prevailed over the past two years has been left behind and that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.
But as today dawned, a mad scramble began to take shape in Düsseldorf and elsewhere as the realization set in that it wouldn’t be possible to get from “here” to “there” very easily, if at all. Many visitors to the show from overseas are essentially stuck and have to wait to find out when the next flights will start get out and return home them from their endeavors. Others undoubtedly will try and catch a train, or rent a car – and the crowds at the ticket and rental counters will be huge.
It’s just an unwelcome reminder that despite all of mankind’s technological and economic advancements, we’re still subject to the whims of Mother Nature.
Were you at wire & Tube? Share your travel tale with us!