Now, US-bound flyers look east

New Delhi: Eyjafjallajokul, the Icelandic volcano, has reared its head again, hitting London, and Amsterdam-bound flights from India. However, the Amritsar-London-Toronto flight operated on Monday as per schedule.
“As of now, we intend to operate all our flights on Tuesday and will be employing a Boeing 747 on the Mumbai route to take care of extra passengers,’’ an AI official told TOI. Kingfisher, too, while resuming services, said passengers must watch out for changing conditions.
With flyers avoiding all but essential travel in view of the disruptions, the holiday traffic from India is expected be hit. ‘‘It is too early to assess but there is no doubt that airline cancellations will impact travel plans badly,’’ said Rajinder Rai, president of Travel Agents Association of India.
Indian flyers who were expected to use London as a transit or a final destination on a Europe holiday are now looking at alternatives.
‘‘The situation has become so unpredictable that tourists are choosing stopovers in the Far East rather than Europe, for travel to the US. But London is a very popular destination and this will affect travel there,’’ says Sharat Dhall, managing director of TripAdvisor India. As a fallout, demand might go up for domestic travel or destinations like Malaysia, he said.
18/05/10 Economic Times

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