'Passengers are running out of clothes, patience, money'

An unprecedented 17,000 flights have been grounded as drifting volcanic ash cloud forced a no fly zone over almost the whole of Europe since Thursday, shutting down major airports and stranding millions of travellers

Sanjay Singh Kushwaha, who has been stranded at Frankfurt airport since the last three days, narrates his harrowing ordeal.

If you are stranded at an airport somewhere, please share your experiences with rediff.com. Write to us at citizen.reporter@rediffmail.com. 

I missed my connecting flight to Delhi from Frankfurt airport, as my flight from Washington DC was delayed due to the disruptions caused globally by the ash clouds emitted by a volcanic eruption in Iceland. My flight was rescheduled for the morning of April 15, but it is yet to take off.

April 15 was a chaotic day here, stretching the public's patience and staff's endurance limits to the hilt. One by one, the flight schedules displayed on the board turned red, and hopes crashed. At least ten thousand people were stranded at the airport.

Airport authorities here are making sure that the hygienic conditions and facilities are maintained to the highest standard. Doctors, security personnel and customer care authorities have been on patrol. Passengers have been sleeping on cots provided by airport authorities.

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This is the biggest airspace closure in European history after World War II. Air traffic had not been hit so badly even after the 9/11 attack.

Frankfurt airport is the second busiest airport in Europe. Thousands of flights have been cancelled at Frankfurt airport and 180 are stranded. Though the arrangements are good, passengers have started to lose patience, as they don't have enough clothes, toiletries or essential items with them. The passengers can't claim their checked in baggage due to security reasons. They are also running out of money.

As I write this, a Romanian guy is singing and Indians are dancing to his song, while some African passengers clap to the rhythm. Maybe in a crisis, humanity takes control of our emotions.

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