Travel ban costing industry millions of pounds a day
Travel giant TUI Travel has today confirmed that the ongoing disruption caused by the volcanic ash emerging from Iceland is costing the company up to £6 million a day. While the welfare of customers is paramount with many stranded overseas, there are fears that the industry, still weak after the UK recession and the credit crunch, can ill afford to take such a massive hit with the travel disruption set to continue into the later part of this week.
There is no doubt that the volcanic ash cloud took everybody by surprise and the severity of the situation is like nothing we have seen before. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people stranded overseas with ferries booked up, trains packed and buses full to the rafters as travellers look for alternative routes back home. The UK government, and other governments around the world, are doing what they can to alleviate the problems felt by travellers but it is proving very difficult to say the least.
The vast majority of those who have missed out on holidays over the last few days, according to TUI Travel, have re-booked for later in the year. However, this is yet another dark cloud hanging over the travel industry at a time when finances have been stretched to the limit.
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