Volcanic dust scuttles more international flights

An AI spokesperson said the flights rescheduled for Friday would be operated on a delayed basis. “Passengers of Air India’s flights stranded at London’s Heathrow on April 15 have been provided hotel accommodation till operations resume.”

Jet Airways announced an indefinite delay in flights,pending the reopening of European airports and airspace. All flights to and from London,Brussels,Newark,New York and Toronto,scheduled for Friday,were cancelled.

Lufthansa Airlines has cancelled all scheduled flights from India to Frankfurt. However,the airline said flights from Mumbai to Munich were still on schedule.

“Many airports across the region have subsequently closed and there is little indication as to when they may reopen. The situation regarding the resumption of flights continues to remain highly fluid and could possibly change at any time,” a Qatar Airways spokesperson said.

On an average,15 flights depart daily from the Mumbai International Airport to these destinations,an MIAL spokesperson said.

Travel agents said,“The passengers cannot do anything and most of them are just waiting to see how the situation will unfold. In any case,the airlines will refund the ticket amount.”

Meanwhile,some 30-40 passengers booked with Jet Airways got into heated arguments with the airline staff on the day,demanding priority booking.

When contacted,Jet Airways spokesperson confirmed the incident.

DGCA trials for secondary runway arrivals next week

The clearance of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for flight arrivals on the Mumbai airport’s secondary runway did not come through on Friday as expected. A DGCA team will now visit the airport to conduct flight trials on the runway.

“The DGCA team will conduct flight trials for calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) on Monday and Tuesday,post which the certification on arrivals will be given,” an MIAL spokesperson said.