Ten flights of Air India, including two international flights, were cancelled from Kolkata airport today resulting in thousands of passengers severely inconvenienced even as the strike by the executive pilots entered its fourth day.

The Air India counters at the Kolkata airport were flooded with enquiries as the Airlines suspended bookings for the next 15 days.

The cancelled flights were Kolkata-Port Blair, Kolkata-Delhi, Kolkata-Hyderabad, Kolkata-Agartala, Kolkata-Guwahati, Kolkata-Chennai, Kolkata- Bangalore, Kolkata-Jaipur, Kolkata-Kathmandu, Kolkata-Delhi-London.

“I have a special assignment in London tomorrow. I had my ticket booked. But the flight has been cancelled today. I received an SMS about the cancellation of the flight and it was written I would be accommodated in some other private airliner,” said  an American citizen.

“However, after I reached the airport, I am told there is no other flight available. I am in a mess now and do not know how I will reach London tomorrow,” he added .

Sunanda Sarkar, who was to board Delhi-bound IC 263 flight, suffered a similar fate. “We had a booking in this flight that was supposed to take off at 7 am. However, after receiving an SMS regarding the cancellation of the flight with the assurance of a substitute arrangement, we reached the airport at 5 am. However, we were not accommodated in any flight. We waited for 12 hours at the airport and finally managed to get a ticket for a private airliner,” said Sarkar.

Around 24 Air India flights, including two international flights, usually operate from the Kolkata Airport everyday, of which ten were cancelled.

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