Iceland volcano: Over 41,000 passengers stranded

Over 41,435 passengers are stranded at Delhi and Mumbai airports since the global air traffic to European and North American cities came to a complete halt after volcanic plumes from Iceland enveloped European cities.

"The Ministry of Civil Aviation has set up a control room, headed by Joint Secretary Prashant Shukul, with officials from Ministry of External Affair and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to clear the backlog," Civil Aviation Secretary M Madhavan Nambiar said here today.

Though Air India and Jet Airways have started their services to the United States through Athens and Egypt but the situation is still grim, he said. The Ministry has asked the airlines to not to "take benefit of the situation" and charge higher fares for the tickets.

Nambiar said government is in talks with Greece to grant "third and fourth freedom" rights which allow passengers from India to disembark and embark at Athens and take another flight or train to Europe.

He also said that due to the closure of airports, five of Air India's aircraft are stuck at various stations. "Two are stuck at London, one each at Frankfurt, Chicago and New York," he added.