John Cleese takes £3,300 taxi across Europe to beat ash flight chaos
John Cleese, the Monty Python and Fawlty Towers star, paid £3,300 to take a cab from Oslo to Brussels after being stranded in Norway by volcanic ash travel chaos.
Published: 9:45AM BST 17 Apr 2010
The comedian was stuck after volcanic ash caused airspace across Europe to be closed, forcing the cancellation of all but a small number of flights.
After ferries and trains were booked up, his assistant chose to send him in a taxi to Brussels, from where he could get a Eurostar train to London.
Cleese, 70, said: "We checked every option but there were no boats and no train tickets available. That's when my fabulous assistant determined the easiest thing would be to take a taxi."
Cleese, who was visiting the Norwegian capital to take part in the popular Scandinavian talk show Skavlan. said before setting off: "It will be interesting. I'm not in a hurry."
According to Oslo Taxi, drivers have made numerous trips between Oslo and Stockholm since Thursday and a number of fares have gone even further. "The longest trip so far was from Oslo to Paris," Oslo Taxi spokesman Lars Dolva told the NTB news agency.
Meanwhile singer Whitney Houston, who was due to perform in Dublin as part of her Nothing But Love world tour, was forced to take to the Irish Sea on a car ferry.
The 46-year-old star opted for the boat after the flight ban threatened to cause another cancellation on her tour, which has already suffered several cancelled dates due to her respiratory infection earlier this month.
Ferry firm Stenaline said it received a booking for Houston's entourage on the Nordica superferry which takes three hours 15 minutes to arrive into Dublin Port.
Source; telegraph.co.uk
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