A YORK woman was among the last people to fly into the UK before flight restrictions made travelling by air impossible.

Linda Riding, of Applecross Road, had been due to fly from Barbados to Teesside airport last Thursday, after a Caribbean cruise, but was told the effects of the Icelandic ash cloud would make this unlikely.

“We heard about the ash while we were on the cruise but didn’t give it a second thought until we were due to leave. We got in touch with our travel agent and they assured us we would definitely be flying out,” she said.

“But as the ship filled up with the next lot of holidaymakers, we found out that many flights had been cancelled.”

Passengers due to fly into Gatwick and Manchester were told they would be put up in Barbados hotels or could remain on the ship, but Linda’s flight was rescheduled to Friday.

“We were flying to Durham, then 40 minutes before we were due to land, the pilot said we’d actually be landing at Manchester airport,” she said.

“We landed at about 2.30pm in Manchester.

“There were a lot of news crews there and I was interviewed for ITN news, which was when I realised just how serious the ash cloud was.”

Linda said although she was concerned that the flight still went ahead despite the closure of UK airspace, but she was nevertheless glad to be safe.

She said: “When I saw the footage on television I just thought ‘my God’. I’m sure they wouldn’t have let us fly if it wasn’t safe, but I didn’t realise the extent of it.

“Obviously given the choice I’d probably rather be on a Caribbean cruise than back at work, but I’m still glad we got home when we did.”


Dunnington cricketers stuck in paradise

A GROUP of York cricketers on a two-week tour of the Caribbean are stranded on St Kitts and Nevis.

The 60-strong group from Dunnington Cricket Club had been due to return on Sunday.

A club spokesman said: “Club officials who are not on the tour have been in contact with club members and have established that British Airways have been very helpful and are currently paying for hotels and meals. It is not yet known when the party will be able to fly back to the UK.”

The chaos also meant a group from a York school were forced to find alternative transport home.

Ben Long and Jarrad Bray, both 11, from Dringhouses Primary School, were in Prague with teacher David Woodings and teaching assistant Alison Baxter, to attend a conference on sustainable travel. The group had been due to fly home on Friday but the flight ban meant they had to find another way home. Mr Woodings bought tickets for an overnight train to Amsterdam on Friday, and managed to book the group on an overnight ferry back to the UK on Sunday. The group docked safely in Hull on Monday morning.

• York College IT lecturer Maggie Ross, stranded in Los Angeles by the disruption, was still able to contact her students. She used video conferencing and email to answer their questions.

• Assistant head teachers and supply staff have been drafted in to cover for head teachers at the following schools: Derwent School, Bishopthorpe Infants, Hob Moor Primary, Knavesmire, Dunnington, Fulford School and Clifton Green Primary School. York Hospital confirmed that two consultant anaesthetists and a surgeon had been victims of the ash misery, but appropriate cover had been found.


Selby councillor Brian Percival stuck in US

A COUNCILLOR from Selby is stranded in New York. Councillor Brian Percival had made his way there after attending a family wedding in Canada.

Coun Percival and eleven other guests have been told by Air Canada that no refund would be offered and that rerouting was not an option.

“The reality is that while the flight is shown, even today, as being scheduled, there is more likelihood that it will not,” said Coun Percival.

Coun Percival said that about 200 people were currently camping out in New York’s JFK airport.