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April 23, 2010

The cloud of volcanic ash has affected thousands of travelers around the world in the same way - delayed their flights, complicated travel plans, and led to nights spent sleeping on airport chairs. But some are finding more creative ways to survive the debacle than others.

Tod and Andrea Brilliant were on their way home from a wedding when Heathrow airport cancelled their flight due to the cloud of volcanic ash obscuring the sky. But, instead of despairing, the innovative couple set up a Facebook group that allowed them to commiserate with other stranded travelers.

The group is called Volcanoes Erupt: A Survival Guide for Stranded Travelers. The cheerful description reads,"Hundreds of thousands of us are stranded, thanks to billowing ash from Iceland's Mt. [Eyjafjallajokull]. Let's come together, swap stories, keep our spirits up, and offer advice for coping with our situations."

The Brilliants have used their time in Strafford-upon-Avon, England, to sightsee, though the pair hopes to make it back to the States as soon as possible so that Andrea, who is eight months pregnant, will not deliver her child across the pond.

According to the Economist, there were several exercises run in recent years to prepare for a similar incident, though experts did not expect the possible eruption to be quite so dramatic. The volcano is known to have previously erupted from 1821 to 1823.

Thus far, the migrating cloud of volcanic ash has affected tens of thousands of flights, and cost European airlines approximately $336 million, the news source reports.

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