- Title: SPAIN: Stranded travellers hope to board British Royal Navy ship
- Date: 21st April 2010
- Summary: SANTANDER, SPAIN (APRIL 20, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BRITISH ROYAL NAVY TROOP CARRIER HMS ALBION DOCKED IN PORT EXTERIOR OF PORT OFFICE STRANDED BRITISH TRAVELLERS STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED TRAVELLER SAYING: "I am just basically trying to get home on a boat or a ferry or maybe that British naval ship will take us home but their priority is to get their troops on from - they are coming home from Afghanistan and so it is a priority to get the lads back home first because they need to get home to their wives and families. We all need to get home, but hopefully we'll get home in the next few days, please God." STRANDED TRAVELLERS TALKING TO ONE ANOTHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED TRAVELLER SAYING: "One of the reasons we came down here was because of the naval ship that we knew was coming in - the British naval ship - but now we are not sure that we will be able to get on to it so we have just got to wait and meet up with some British embassy officials and see what they can do." PEOPLE IN FERRY BUILDING WOMAN LYING ON SEATS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE QUEUING AT BRITTANY FERRY DESK STRANDED TRAVELLERS STANDING WOMAN SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED TRAVELLER SAYING: "I am just hoping that this boat that is taking the troops has enough spaces to take some more of us, but now we are told that there is a coach coming from Madrid with 200 people - that they are going to get first preference over us - something like that." PEOPLE IN FRONT OF BRITTANY FERRIES COUNTER COUPLE SEATED
- Embargoed: 6th May 2010 11:01
- Keywords:
- Location: Spain
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Defence / Military,Travel / Tourism
- Reuters ID: LVA78TSEDKAVU8V416XNM9ZX5P62
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Travellers stranded in Spain by flight closures because of volcanic ash in much of European airspace were hoping to board a British naval ship docked in the northern Spanish port of Santander on Tuesday (April 20).
The HMS Albion docked in Santander in the morning to collect British soldiers on their way home after serving in Afghanistan.
One traveller accepted that it was a priority to get the troops home, but was still holding out hope of being able to board the Royal Navy vessel. He said: "I am just basically trying to get home on a boat or a ferry or maybe that British naval ship will take us home but their priority is to get their troops on from - they are coming home from Afghanistan and so it is a priority to get the lads back home first because they need to get home to their wives and families. We all need to get home, but hopefully we'll get home in the next few days, please God."
Another stranded traveller said he wanted to meet British officials to ask them whether he could board the ship. He said: "One of the reasons we came down here was because of the naval ship that we knew was coming in - the British naval ship - but now we are not sure that we will be able to get on to it so we have just got to wait and meet up with some British embassy officials and see what they can do."
An elderly woman also hoping to get home said, "I am just hoping that this boat that is taking the troops has enough spaces to take some more of us, but now we are told that there is a coach coming from Madrid with 200 people - that they are going to get first preference over us - something like that."
HMS Albion is a type of assault vessel known as a "Landing Platform Dock Ship" which is designed to deploy large numbers of troops to a location.
Large parts of Europe enforced no-fly rulings for a sixth day on Tuesday because of the huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano, however some restrictions were being eased. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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