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Page last updated at 08:13 GMT, Saturday, 17 April 2010 09:13 UK

The world without airplanes

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The grounding of flights across much of Europe is starting to be a serious problem causing hundreds of thousands to search for hotel rooms, train tickets or rental cars. Philosopher and author Alain de Botton discusses how in a future world without airplanes, children would gather at the feet of old men, and hear extraordinary tales of a mythic time when vast and complicated machines the size of several houses used to take to the skies.

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