RIYADH/DAMMAM, 28 July 2005 — Hundreds of India-bound passengers were stranded in different parts of the Kingdom after all airlines including the national carrier Air-India suspended flights to Indian destinations, especially Bombay, after unprecedented rains in Bombay and its suburbs.
P. Senthil Kumar, Air-India’s country manager in the Kingdom, said the flights may hopefully be resumed today. No flight from the Kingdom could land in Bombay since Tuesday afternoon.
“A total of 51 Air-India passengers bound for Bombay are staying at a Riyadh hotel,” said Kumar adding that all the passengers had come to King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh from different cities of the Kingdom. He said that the flight from Bombay to Riyadh could not come due to rains and the same flight would take Bombay-bound passengers from here.
“There can be indefinite delay on Riyadh-Bombay sector,” Kumar said, adding that the passengers and travel agents had been informed about the delay. He, however, called on the passengers and the travel agents to call Air-India office on 01-4774484 to inquire about the departure and the arrival of flights to and from KKIA.
Asked about the situation of flights operating from Jeddah, Ashok Kumar, Air-India’s manger for Western Province, said that the Bombay-bound flight, which left King Abdul Aziz Airport yesterday headed to Delhi because of the incessant rains in Bombay. Air-India, he said, “has been operating six flights a week to Bombay from Jeddah and the operation will hopefully resume once the situation improves.”
Air traffic to Indian destinations, particularly to Bombay were also disrupted yesterday from the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
All the airlines cancelled their flights to Bombay and many flights to other Indian destinations were delayed. Gulf Air announced cancellation of its flight to Bombay yesterday. Gulf Air operates from Bahrain but it takes passengers from Dammam.
According to officials of the airline, one of its flights was already stranded in Muscat, waiting for clearance to land at the Bombay Airport. The Gulf Air said that it would offer alternative Indian destinations to its passengers until the airport gets ready to receive flights.
Indian national carrier, Air-India was scheduled to fly to Delhi this afternoon, but due to rains in Bombay the aircraft did not arrive at Dammam and as a result its Delhi flight was delayed. The airline officials eventually succeeded in diverting a flight from Hyderabad to Dammam that will carry passengers to Delhi at 7 p.m. this evening.
The airline officials said that they have made a contingency plan in case weather situation does not improve and flights fail to land in Bombay.
