April 21- Travel tour operators across the UAE are suffering because of the flight cancellations to Europe, as most residents from the region holiday in Europe. The disruption is the result of the lingering ash cloud over the continent owing to a volcanic eruption in Iceland.
Talking about the flight disruptions, John Felix, Senior Vice-President at Emirates Holidays, said that his company is doing its best to help out stranded passengers in Europe. “We will re-book them on our flights when operations are reinstated.” Those people scheduled to fly out of UAE to Europe will have all cancellation fees waived.”
Similarly, Kulwant Singh, Managing Partner of Lama Desert Tours and Cruises, said that his company has three different problems to deal with. “First, our frequent individual travellers or FIT have stopped inquiring for flights and holiday bookings. Next, our group bookings to Europe have either been cancelled or rescheduled; others have asked for alternative holiday destinations. Third, we have 60 cases of travellers who have booked tickets online. They are now in Dubai and are extending their stay on their own expense because they cannot travel to Europe due to the closure of European airports,” he explained.
At the moment, Singh’s company is trying to arrange for alternative holiday destinations for all those customers scheduled to fly out to London and Amsterdam in the last week. “So far, 11 of 15 European airports are still closed as of Monday. All these affected travellers are scheduled to go on holiday from April 21 to September 15,” he said.
