Airlines cancelled flights on Sunday between India and London following closure of London Heathrow airport on account of heavy snowfall. National carrier Air India, private carriers Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines and also British Airways announced flight cancellations. The weather and cancellations have dealt a heavy blow to travel plans of passengers with airlines advising them to check on the status of flights this week before setting out for the airport.
“Two flights each from Delhi and Mumbai to London that operate daily were cancelled on Sunday,” said a British Airways official. Air India said it had put on hold the operation of its two flights from India to London on Sunday and also one flight each to Paris and Frankfurt as well. Airlines are hoping the weather clears up in Europe so that flights can be operated from Monday at least but some have already cancelled flights even on Monday.
In a statement, Jet Airways said, “Following closure of London Heathrow airport and airspace over London due to heavy snow, Jet Airways on Sunday cancelled its flights to and from London. Flights 9W 122 from Delhi and 9W 118 from Mumbai of December 18 (Saturday) have been diverted to Brussels because of the closure of London Heathrow airport.”
Jet Airways added, “Guests are being re-routed by all modes of transport available to London. Additionally, Jet Airways is awaiting reopening of London Heathrow airport to operate extra flights from Brussels to London. Jet Airways is (also) planning to operate additional flights from London to India to clear the stranded guests and normal operations are expected to resume by Monday afternoon. An additional Airbus A330 flight will be operated from Mumbai to London Heathrow on December 21. Guests are requested to check with the airline website.”
In another statement, Kingfisher Airlines said, “Due to the persistent bad weather at London Heathrow airport and non-availability of the runway due to snow, Kingfisher Airlines regrets to announce the cancellation of all flights scheduled to operate to and from London Heathrow on Sunday, December 19. The flights that have been cancelled are IT-007 Mumbai to London Heathrow, IT-008 London Heathrow to Mumbai, IT-001 New Delhi to London Heathrow, and IT-002 London Heathrow to New Delhi. As a result of the disruptions in flight schedules due to inclement weather, Kingfisher Airlines regrets that the following flights for Monday December 20, 2010 also stand cancelled. (These are) IT-007 Mumbai to London Heathrow and IT-001 New Delhi to London Heathrow.”
Kingfisher added, “Due to these circumstances, Kingfisher Airlines will waive all cancellation and reissue penalties on all confirmed tickets issued for travel on above mentioned flights. Re-booking will be permitted at no additional charge for a period of 14 days from their original date.” The airline also advised passengers “to contact Kingfisher Airlines or your travel agent, whoever issued your ticket, to discuss your options.”