Ash disrupts students’ travel plans abroad

The eruption of Iceland’s Mount Eyjafjallajokul created minor travel delays and inconveniences for Middlebury students studying abroad in Europe this semester.

Students in Europe were forced to adapt some of their travel plans after the cloud of ash from the April 14 eruption snarled air traffic across Europe.

Although no students have complained about serious travel issues, the majority of the students studying in Paris experienced delays and difficulties in booking flights back to the U.S. for spring break, according to Meghan Mason, Coordinator of C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad.

Some of Europe’s high traffic airports shut down due to the ash, including Charles de Gaulle in Paris and Heathrow in London, affecting many Middlebury students in these areas.

Ben Weir ’11 ran into problems when trying to return to Ferrara, Italy after visiting friend Jack Terrett ’11 in London. After two cancelled flights, Weir decided to take the train back to Italy.

“It was definitely an adventure,” Weir wrote in an e-mail, “and fun because I got to see some of the countryside that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. I also got to see a friend in Paris, which was great. Traveling in trains is inherently more social than in planes I find, so I also got to talk with a few people who were trying to get back home themselves.”

However, the journey was much longer and more exhausting than a plane ride. Weir traveled from London through Paris, Milan and Bologna. He finally arrived in Ferarra after close to 24 hours of travel.

Weir said his altered travel increased his expenses dramatically as well.

“The major downside is that if I had taken a plane, my total travel costs would have been in the neighborhood of 50 to 60 Euros, while it was probably about 275 for the trains,” he said.