eBay Advises “Be Patient” with Volcanic Delays
Eyjafjallajokull? At first glance, it may look to an English-speaker like someone was trying to smash a bug walking across a keyboard. It’s actually the name of an ice volcano that has been all over the headlines due to its large ash cloud that poses a risk for jet engines.
Intercontinental flights are resuming across the Atlantic after eruptions from a volcano in Iceland has stranded thousands of travelers. Canceled flights have been a financial disaster for airlines and losses of up to $2 billion USD have been reported. The volcano is still visibly active as of Thursday, according to the Associated Press, content provider of the video above; however, the magma boiling at the surface is preferable to the ashy eruptions and flights are resuming for the first time in a week.
Stories abound about the emotional toll of being stranded. One man, determined not to miss the birth of his child, bought a used vehicle on eBay and drove 1200 miles to avoid the ban on air travel. See story here.
Among the tales of divided families and canceled vacations, the halting of flights filled with commercial cargo may seem of secondary importance. No doubt that passenger planes will be competing with jetliners that ship goods for valuable space on crowded runways across Europe.
An announcement was posted on eBay Monday, advising users to be patient. In a global marketplace, we take for granted the infrastructure that allows people to ship goods from one end of the world to another. Being able to list an item for sale on eBay and attract bids instantly from shoppers across oceans is one advantage that previous generations could hardly fathom. But online consignment stores like easysale.net–with 5 locations in the Dallas metro area pricing, listing, and shipping goods worldwide–may also be affected by this prehistoric force. At this time, there is no way to predict whether further volcanic activity will continue to put international air cargo at risk.
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