Negotiating the ash cloud

Most people in Europe have a story about travelling during the ash-cloud madness. I got away without sleepless nights or fruitless trips to airports, but here's the story anyway.

I was trying to get from Malmö, Sweden to Stavanger, Norway. Normally it's 45 mins to Copenhagen airport and a 1hr 20min direct flight from there.

I started with train tickets from Malmö to Gothenburg (3 hrs) and Gothenburg to Stavanger (4hrs to Oslo, then 9 to Stavanger) plus a flight from Gothenburg to Stavanger via Oslo. The first leg was fine and the train had internet so I could keep up with the changes. The Gothenburg-Oslo flight was cancelled so there was only one option. I had a quick early dinner at Gothenburg station and then boarded the train to Oslo.

The train was full and I was sitting next to some Americans who were struggling to get back to Oslo. One guy had been travelling for 6 days from Johannesburg, at great expense. Everyone had a story.

The night train was an ugly option. Beds were full and there were only seats. This wasn't a problem for me when I was backpacking around europe, but this time I had a meeting with a new client in the morning. The flight was far more civilised, but if I went to the airport and the flight was cancelled, it was too late to get back to the train.

So is the plane going, or isn't it?

No use calling SAS, the lines were so busy it wasn't even possible to get into the on hold queue. Someone had a gold card and tried calling another number, but he got no further. Someone else said there was flight information at the airport train area.

Finally the train pulled into Oslo Central station. It was vaguely familiar, but I hadn't been here since 2001. There was 1 hour before the night train to Stavanger.

Decision time. I was looking at the flight board which showed a host of cancellations. Bergen and Stavanger were still listed - but there's no indication that it's likely to fly. Just a blank space in the information column. There were others buying tickets for the airport train, so I asked one group of businessmen who said they were bound for Stavanger. So worth a try.

Oslo airport that night was the quietest major airport I've ever seen. No check-in queues, only one security line and no queue there either. All the shops closed except for a sandwich shop. Only the two gates working. Our gate looked like it was a full flight. Lots of people sleeping, on the way home from long journeys. The mood improved when we saw the cabin crew boarding the plane. After a half hour delay they started boarding our flight. So I made it to the hotel in Stavanger by 1.30am, in time for a decent night's sleep before work in the morning.

Of course, the next morning I found out my job was delayed until Friday. All the airports were open again by then!

So for all the criticism of airlines, airports, missing baggage and flight delays - it's still way better than the alternatives.

There's talk about another volcano next to Eyjafjallajökull which could erupt for several months. If this happens, it's time for me to change jobs!