I’ve got a friend who can’t currently get back to UK, she’s hopeful of a convoluted route which WILL get her home but days later than planned. Fortunately the sitters she has are able to stay the extra days but there must be other homeowners whose sitters can’t stay on. I was expecting to find lots of urgent calls for last minute sits/handovers when I came on here today. I could potentially make myself available!
What a great suggestion @Nofurbabies. Would it be possible @Mark_B @Therese for members who find themselves in a fix and without cover to post their requirements on the Forum (under another heading)?
I realise hosts and sitters should have a plan B but hopefully the community can come together to help out if at all possible.
What a coincidence! I was just going to post the same suggestion.
Great plan @Nofurbabies - there’s someone in France who’s struggling as their hosts are stranded in the Middle East and they can’t stay the full time. It’s on the FB page, have suggested Last Minute Sits on here but a separate one would be much clearer and more urgent. #nicethinking
I could only do UK sits but there must be other people in other countries who could be available - particularly sitters whose sits have been cancelled because their hosts can no longer travel and so no longer need a sitter.
We left last night, we are in Greece now ![]()
How incredibly kind and generous of you.
I’m sure we can put something together in the Meet-Ups and travel category (i’ll add the link shortly).
EDIT: Here is the dedicated forum discussion should anyone encounters travel disruption and/or impacted by the issues happening in the Middle East and would like to reach out to the community for support.
Would it be possible to pin/stick this at the top? I think that is the correct lingo ![]()
There are only a few international connecting hubs these days and the largest have already been targeted by Iran. Their currently can’t-go status may take a very long time before upgrading to shouldn’t-go. Using Iraq as an example and Iran’s drone building capacity, we could be in for a very extended period of difficult long-haul travel.
That Turkmenistan routing we talked about a while back should still be an option. We’ll probably go that way to the UK or Milan from KL or Bangkok if things don’t settle by the time we want to go.
You’re right @OnTheRoadAgain. Watched Simon Caulder (UK travel expert) who’s stuck in Sydney. He suggested even if everything opened up tomorrow it may take up to 2 weeks for all long haul flights to get back to ‘normal’ due to the number of planes and crew in the wrong places now.
For many travelers, extended delays can create all sorts of headaches, even if they can afford to pay for unexpected extended stays wherever they’re stuck. People typically have obligations back home and don’t expect a vacation to turn into a dragged out, stressful affair. Or they don’t want to risk that, so cancel.
Most vacation travel is optional and not time sensitive. Like I was planning to revisit Egypt, but there’s no need for me to be there when there’s volatility of this current sort. I’ll just go another time and save myself needless potential complications.
Randomly, I saw a social media post a couple of days ago from someone who was stuck in Dubai, because of the then-complete airport closures. They ended up hiring a driver (for $1,500 USD) to take them to Oman, the closest available operating airport, so they could get home, instead of waiting in limbo. And that was despite Dubai’s leaders voluntarily arranging to cover hotel costs for stranded travelers.
That’s pretty typical with major snafus nowadays, including severe weather, natural disasters, technical meltdowns, etc.
NATO just knocked down a missile heading to Turkey?
Interesting. Turkish press are saying the missile was headed for Cyprus and not us but hey, it’s the media….we can only sit tight.
Things only return slowly to normal after SNAFUs are in the rearview mirrors. If your SNAFUs are “major”, what should we call this FUBAR?
Absolutely,
FUBAR!!!
Beam me up Scotty, I have had all I can take.
Are you planning on staying in Turkey?
I’d imagine that pricing is dynamic and they hired a private driver.
