Govt advises flyers to defer travel to Europe

New Delhi: The fifth straight day of flight cancellations over Europe has sent alarm bells ringing in the aviation ministry, as it estimates that 41,435 passengers are stuck in Delhi and Mumbai alone. The all-India figure would be higher and the numbers could keep adding up if airlines aren’t able to restart flights soon.
The government, on its part, advised passengers to defer travel to European destinations unless absolutely necessary. The advisory issued by the aviation ministry was part of government’s multi-pronged strategy under which talks have been initiated with Greece to allow Indian carriers to pick up or deboard stranded flyers.
The aviation ministry’s crack team, led by secretary M M Nambiar and DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi, is trying to get rights for Indian carriers to fly to a few open airports in southern Europe. Along with the joint secretary in charge of bilaterals (agreements that enable inter-country flights), Prashant Sukul, the team wants Indian carriers to be able to fly passengers to and from places like Cairo, Athens and Madrid. Now, with much of Europe airspace under the volcanic ash cloud, accessibility to the continent is only possible through a combination of rail-road-and-sea links from these places.
‘‘We are trying to secure for Air India rights to fly via Cairo, while Jet can fly passengers to and from Athens. Madrid is also an option. We are in constant touch with Euro Control for the latest situation of airspace closures,’’ Nambiar said.
20/04/10 Times of India

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Categories: Foreign Apr 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2010