Europe’s cold wave causes travel shutdown

The total travel shutdown of Europe during the holiday season and the weather disturbances point to changing patterns and provide one more arrow to the arsenal of the climate change enthusiasts.

Europe is currently experiencing the worst winter in 30 years. But there is another side to the travel disruptions that has nothing to do with global warming but more to do with corporate and governmental short-sightedness.

In spite of Europe having snowy winters for three years in a row, neither airlines nor airports have made the necessary investments to deal with the problems of cold weather. As a result, airlines are losing millions a day.

Apart from the inconvenience to passengers, such delays are disastrous for airline balance sheets. And given the frequency with which this has been happening, better preparedness makes good sense.

The head of the British Airports Authority has been forced to admit that they did not have enough equipment to deal with the snow and ice  — in spite of Heathrow being the busiest airport in the world.

Even worse, some airlines have alleged that it was the lack of communication that was the problem. The more things change…