- Title: USA: Stranded travelers wait, hope, and wait some more
- Date: 20th April 2010
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 19, 2010) (REUTERS) BRITISH AIRWAYS TERMINAL VARIOUS EMPTY STREETS OUTSIDE TERMINAL (SOUNDBITE) (English) PREMAMRITA FOX, STRANDED TRAVELER, SAYING: "They are very helpful, but there is nothing they can do, obviously, until the airspace is open, and the earliest they can give me is the 27th." EMPTY ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (English) HARRY RICE, STRANDED TRAVELER, SAYING: "Our flight originally was to London, and they are trying to get us now from here to Dublin, so we won't have to go through London, which is a big help." (SOUNDBITE) (English) BETTY RICE, STRANDED TRAVELER, SAYING: "Both of us have families at home, so it's not good, and I had a new little grandson a week before I came away and I think he'll be going to school by time I get home." MORE EMPTY ROADS AT AIRPORT (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHRIS TWOK, STRANDED TRAVELER, SAYING: "Staying in a hotel, commuting to the airport, waiting all day, going back to the hotel, and that pretty much it, eating hotel food." TWOK WALKING AWAY
- Embargoed: 5th May 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Travel / Tourism,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA4G4JSCL5VTK1MICOYUPLNA54Z
- Story Text: Air travelers are facing another day of waiting and hoping for a flight to Europe.
Stranded travelers at airports around New York City are passing the time as best they can. At Newark airport in New Jersey, stranded passengers have been sleeping on cots.
One woman, who did not give her name, said she has been trying to get back to France.
"We tried to go up this morning and ask them if there is any change, but probably not," she said.
Volkers Arnold is trying to get back to Germany. He said he is willing to fly back to anywhere in Europe.
"We wanted to go back to Frankfurt, but there was no flight back, so we tried to change it to go to Italy, and we had a flight to Milan, but it was also canceled yesterday," said Volkers.
British airspace will start to reopen to flights from 0600 GMT on Tuesday (April 20) after levels of volcanic ash from Iceland declined, UK air traffic controllers said on Monday (April 19).
The volcanic eruption in southern Iceland has reduced and is not emitting ash to altitudes that would affect Britain, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), which controls UK airspace, said in a statement.
Airspace in Scotland and northern England will open first and restrictions in the rest of England and Wales may be lifted later on Tuesday, the national air traffic control body said.
At John F Kennedy (JFK) airport in New York, the British Airways terminal is mostly empty. All of the stranded passengers have been relocated.
Now, many British Airways passengers are coming to the airport just to try to rebook their flights.
Premamrita Fox says he was supposed to return to London today, but may not get back home until next week. Fox says the staff at British Airways has treated him well.
"They are very helpful, but there is nothing they can do, obviously, until the airspace is open, and the earliest they can give me is the 27th," said Fox.
Brother and sister Harry and Betty Rice are trying to return home to Ireland. Their flight home was canceled on Thursday (April 15).
"Our flight originally was to London, and they are trying to get us now from here to Dublin, so we won't have to go through London, which is a big help," said Harry Rice.
Betty Rice misses her newborn grandson.
"Both of us have families at home, so it's not good, and I had a new little grandson a week before I came away and I think he'll be going to school by time I get home," Betty Rice said sarcastically.
Chris Twok was also supposed to flight out last Thursday. He is trying to get back to London. Twok says his days have become pretty dull. Twok now spends his days, "Staying in a hotel, commuting to the airport, waiting all day, going back to the hotel, and that pretty much it, eating hotel food."
Millions of passengers have been stranded or had their travel disrupted across northern Europe and around the world. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None