University of Otago graduate Brendan Connor (24) today faces an unexpected 30-hour bus trip from Warsaw back to London via the Channel Tunnel, having found himself stranded in Riga, the Latvian capital, last week.
Volcanic ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland grounded most commercial air flights in Britain and Europe, including his flight back to London.
Mr Connor, who attended Dunstan High School in Alexandra and completed a BA degree in philosophy at Otago University in 2006, is now studying for a masters degree in politics at Oxford University, in England.
The airline offered him a rebooking or a refund.
He chose the refund and took a10-hour bus trip to Warsaw where last night he was planning some impromptu sightseeing before starting his longer bus trip.
"Something like this is nobody's fault. You can't really get very angry about it," he said from the Polish capital in a telephone interview last night.
"There's not much you can do about it. You might as well make the most of it, and get out and see a bit of Warsaw," he said.
Former Macandrew Bay couple Janos Takacs and Gail Takacs, now working in London, have also found themselves stranded during a visit to a family member in Budapest, Hungary.
In an email to the ODT yesterday, they said they now hoped to fly back to London, but, if necessary, would travel by train.
"It's not inconveniencing us at all as we enjoy travel and will fill in a day or so by travelling through to Vienna ..."
Don Crum, the Dunedin office manager at Harvey World Travel, said he had not received any panicky responses from clients visiting Europe.
Clients overseas appeared to be taking the situation in their stride.
The ash eruptions underscored the need for people to always take out appropriate insurance before travelling.
House of Travel Dunedin managing director John Harley said after some initial shock and confusion, clients were now taking a realistic approach.
The disruption highlighted the need to follow the advice of airlines over future travel plans, he said.
The chaos had also been felt in New Zealand with passengers stranded and short of cash.
Some have been billeted through a Tourism Auckland initiative.
Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand had to abandon attempts to attend the state funeral of the President of Poland, which was held earlier today, after flying to Los Angeles and on to New York.
