LAKE COUNTY – Thousands of airline flights recently were canceled in Europe due to the volcanic eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

April Knoll owner of The Travel Centers in Lakeport and Ukiah says that this is a very difficult time to be trying to fly from the United States to western and central Europe.

However, she points out that there are some things that travelers should do if they have travel plans to Europe:

 

1. Stay in touch with your travel agent and your airline in order to determine the very latest flight status. "We had a couple today that were able to make a flight on KLM out out of San Francisco to Amsterdam, after the airspace was cleared by Eurocontrol for limited air traffic late Monday. They stayed in touch with me and I actually got a call from KLM advising me that the flight was in fact scheduled to depart and I advised the client to get to the airport as soon as possible and check in. It worked out for them. Our experience with KLM in this instance has been terrific."

 

2. Consider buying travel insurance when purchasing your tickets and or travel packages. Knoll said that most customers with travel insurance will be covered, since flight cancellations due to the volcano are considered weather-related. She said that The Travel Centers tries to offer their clients Travel Guard or Travelex insurance, which covers trip cancellations, interruptions and delays, missed connections, lost baggage and potential emergency medical transportation.

 

3. If your flight is canceled, contact your travel agent or the airline to determine rescheduling availability and other options. "Last Saturday we worked with a client to reschedule a tour that was due to depart from London on Monday. Their flight out of San Francisco was canceled but we were able to rebook their tour for later in the month."

 

Knoll says the most important thing to do in this situation is stay in touch with your travel professional in order to determine your options.

 

Contact The Travel Centers at 707-263-3095 or 707-462-2931.