The London Olympics are about to start but so has all of the headaches and hassles that come with such a big public event. The Atlantic has a detailed article mentioning other articles along with observations that the security measures in place to prevent a terrorist attack are giving the Olympics and London a distinctly “occupied look” while The National has an article listing a whole series of gripes from London residents.
There is also no relief up in the skies as the RAF has already been scrambled once after air traffic control lost contact with a Thomas Cook scheduled flight (travelling from Tunisia to Glasgow) carrying hundreds of tourists. A £125 million Typhoon had only left the runway for a few seconds before contact was restored with the airliner.
The Netherlands is also opening up part of its military airspace in order to alleviate the surge in civilian air traffic during both the Olympics and Paralympics. Specifically, the Dutch Ministry of Defense is opening a civilian air corridor in central and eastern North Brabant. That’s in the southernmost province of the Netherlands along the Belgium border where F-16s usually exercise.
Meanwhile, British authorities are getting plenty of flack after an 11 year old boy was able to fly from Manchester to Rome on his own without a passport, ticket or boarding pass – telling the media after it happened that:
Getting on the plane was easier than doing my homework. I didn’t have anything on me and no one asked me for anything. They smiled at me when I went through.
In other words, maybe missiles on rooftops aren’t needed if everyone just did their job at the airport!
Finally, its worth mentioning an op-ed piece that recently appeared in The Telegraph that also summarized some of the gripping about the Olympics but ended by saying:
So stop your moaning – everything always looks like it’s going to be a disaster until the last minute, but we muddle through and things turn out fine, including the weather. Just repeat to yourself: This is Britain, and everything’s alright. Everything’s alright. It’s okay. It’s fine.
So once again: This is Britain, and everything’s alright. Everything’s alright. It’s okay. It’s fine…..
Source: The Telegraph