This question was posed by Synovate Research as a result of a survey carried out in response to recent restrictions on air travel and the chaos caused at airports. 40% of respondents from the UK concluded that air travel is much less appealing now than ever due to inconveniences caused by tighter security restrictions as well as the threat of terror itself.
Having boarded my first flight at the age of 21 heading to Moscow with a number of university colleagues, the prospect of heading as far eastwards as I had ever done, was indeed appealing. This pre-empted the boom in cheap flights which soon put pay to the initial excitement of take off and landing. Air travel has become a commodity rather than part of a holiday and in some ways this essential part of the journey has become a written off, dismissed period of time. Get from A to B. Don't mention the T-word. Pack all sharp objects. Check. Drink that bottle of water BEFORE security. Check. The list goes on. No wonder the British public are beginning to shy away from air travel.
Let's take the opportunity to reduce our air miles and think about the consequences our short haul flights are having on the environment. Let's go slow. Let's look at the options.
Get to Europe by Eurostar and enlist the help of www.seat61.com to find details of onward trains. Sail to St Malo, Bilbao or Brest and see the sun rise over the Channel whilst inhaling the early morning breeze. Be the first passenger to leave the ferry triumphantly by bicycle.
There are so many options when you think about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment