Thousands stranded in Indian airports

The Icelandic volcano which erupted a week ago is still causing chaos and now Europe's troubles have spilled over substantially to India. Over 41,000 passengers have been stranded at Mumbai and Delhi international airports as the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland continues to disrupt flights in and out of Europe.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation or DGCA has said that several days would be required to clear the backlog. Data from the DGCA indicates that altogether 41,435 passengers have been stuck in limbo at the two international airports.
In Mumbai, thousands remain stranded at the international the airport as disruptions in flight services continued there for the fourth day.
All flights to destinations like London and Paris remained cancelled on Monday, although Air India and Jet Airways resumed some of the flights through other routes.
Accommodation has been one of the major worries for the passengers, some of whose visas have expired thus making it impossible for them to leave the airport premises. This is even as airlines have stopped footing the bill for food and other essentials, calling it a situation of 'natural calamity'.
As hotels near Mumbai airport are packed to the brim, passengers have been forced to stay outside the departure terminal.
To deal with the situation, the Civil Aviation Ministry has set up a control room that would coordinate with the External Affairs Ministry, the DGCA and the airlines flying out of India and would function 12 hours a day from 8 am until the situation becomes normal.
20/04/10 Times Now.tv

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Categories: Airports Apr 2010