An editorial introduction to a special section on the disruptions to air travel trig-
gered by Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull’s eruptions in April and May 2010. A spontaneously organized workshop and open call for papers gathered together analyses from different perspectives – systems theory, impromptu surveys, personal reflection, literary and philosophical probing. This introduction explores some of the connecting themes and highlights the strange, surprising and potently revealing nature of strandedness in a world of mobile lives.