Flights cancelled over bad weather
Passengers wait for a flight at the Madrid Bajaras airport on December 4, 2010. Spain's government declared a state of alert over a wildcat strike by air traffic controllers, opening the way to criminal charges against strikers, the interior minister said. AFP PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Passengers stranded as airlines cancel or delay flights over snow and fog in Europe
Thousands of passengers flying to and from Nairobi are stranded after their flights were cancelled or delayed due to extreme weather in Europe.
Many European destinations are enveloped in heavy snow and fog.
Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the Emirates and SN Brussels, which have regular flights to and from Nairobi have canceled or delayed some of their flights.
Airports suffering severe weather include Heathrow and Gatwick in the UK and Schipol in The Netherlands. They are major connection points for airline traffic from Africa to the Americas and the Far East.
KLM said on Tuesday on its website: “Due to fog and freezing conditions in Amsterdam and fog or snow in several other European countries on December 7, 2010 we experiencing some cancellations and delays.
“If you were due to fly between December 1 and December 5 and your flight was delayed by more than five hours or cancelled by KLM, you are entitled to a full refund of your ticket. Refunds are not possible in other cases,” the airline advised.
SN Brussels flight from the Belgian capital to Nairobi was delayed for one hour last Friday.
An official said: “Those affected are passengers from other cities in Europe where the weather is extreme like Manchester and who were to connect through Brussels.”
Emirates Airlines spokesperson Michael Omuodo said they had not cancelled any flights to and from Nairobi.
“I have been reliably informed from Dubai that everything is running normally.” he said.
Qatar Airlines said: “None of our flights have so far been cancelled. We are flying to Europe as usual,” said an official who only identified herself as Teresia.
Reports in UK tabloid Daily Mail said British Airways, Iberia, Qatar, Emirates, KLM, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Air Zimbabwe, Qantas, BMI, South African Airways, Afriqiyah Airways, Royal Air Morocco, Swiss Airline, Arik Airline, Lufthansa, Singapore Airways, Thai Airways and Malaysian Airline had cancelled flights to and from Heathrow and Gatwick.
