Grounded at IGI,halting in CP

As all flights to Europe and Canada were cancelled owing to volcanic eruptions in Iceland,harried passengers took shelter in hotel lobbies in the city.

At Hotel Radisson Marina in Connaught Place,more than 40 people were packed in the lobby their Friday morning Air India flights to Canada and London were cancelled.

Many complained of shabby treatment at the airport. A couple said they were stuck at the airport for eight hours after being told their flight would take off shortly.

Tariwal,a 70-year-old from Ludhiana,said his Toronto flight on Friday morning was cancelled and for a very long time,there was no information about it. We were stuck at the airport till 2 in the afternoon, he rued.

Another passenger,Jasbir Singh,31,was worried about expenditure every extra day in Delhi would entail. If the flights dont resume in a day,we will have to go back to Punjab. There is no point staying in Delhi and wasting money, he said.

As families suffered in uncertainty,the first relief came at 5 in the evening. Air India announced flights from Delhi,Mumbai,Ahmedabad and Amritsar to London,Frankfurt,Chicago,New York,Washington,Toronto and Newark and vice versa will resume from Monday.

Jet Airways also announced plans to resume flights to New York and Toronto by making a diversion over Greece.

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A DIAL spokesperson told Newsline the disruption will last a few days. All West Europe and US-bound flights to and from Delhi stand cancelled. All passengers are asked to check the status of their flights before going to the airport.

The airlines,however,said they are working with the authorities to obtain permission to reschedule flights.

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