cheap holidays in the Algarve

10:20am Tuesday 1st June 2010 in Holiday information

Passengers Pay The Price To Get Home

After the mammoth volcanic eruption in Iceland causing mayhem for passengers worldwide, the ash-spewing volcano is not holding back as winds sweep the ash across Europe, causing disorder for over 4000 flights.

With flight companies losing millions of pounds each day the air space is closed, they are desperate to get back in the skies and repatriate stranded passengers.

However some passengers are taking it upon themselves to return to their loved ones, in a desperate bid to get home.

As up to 5,000 British tourists remain trapped in the Spanish Capital, a meeting held at Downing Street revealed its plans to borrow a number of coaches from Spain to rescue Britons stranded there.

A group of British friends who were stuck in Spain joined together to buy an old Mitsubishi four-wheel-drive for &pound350 in a plight to get back to Britain. The group from Essex drove it 1,000 miles home before putting the vehicle on e-bay in the hope of getting their money back.

A stranded tourist from Redditch spent &pound1760 on the most excessively priced taxi ride of his life in one final attempt to return home from the French Alps. The family of eight will not be able to recover their expenses through insurance, however they feel they made the right decision and are just grateful to be back home having a nice cuppa.

A passenger from Portland, Oregon, was stranded at Amsterdam airport where his flight was due to depart from, with three other travellers. They decided amongst one another to rent a car and drive to Madrid, a 16 hour road journey. The rental company originally wanted €1,600 for the use of the vehicle, however these desperate tourists got themselves a bargain and paid only €600.

Another family who were desperate to get home spent around €2,800 to reach Calais in an attempt to return home. After enjoying their cheap holidays in the Algarve, the volcanic ash meant all flights were cancelled and the couple became stranded, along with their three young children. Mr Broadbent, who owns a medical company, needed to return to work as every day he was not their, his business was losing money. Eventually, the family decided they must get home, and so they hired a car at a cost of €1,800 and paid €200 for petrol, as well as €400 for food and €700 on hotels.

It is no wonder that those passengers involved in this unfortunate act of God are hesitant when thinking about booking their next holidays, as well as those passengers stuck in rainy Britain when they should be in sunnier climes. However, if you're looking to travel sometime in the near future, before beginning your search, check the ash has cleared and that all stranded passengers have been safely returned home. See what's available for the following three weeks, and if you find that perfect deal, whether it be relaxing breaks in France, sunny trips to Spain or cheap holidays in the Algarve, don't let this freak accident put you off, you never know when it'll happen next.