700 passengers stranded at Delhi airport after Lufthansa cancels 2 flights

New Delhi, September 2

Around 700 passengers on Friday were stranded at the IGI airport’s Terminal-3 after Germany-based Lufthansa airline cancelled two of its flights due to pilots’ strike, police said.

According to the police, more than 100 people, relatives and family members of the stranded passengers, gathered outside the airport and demanded refunds or alternative arrangements.

An information was received on Friday at 12.15am that a crowd had gathered on the main road in front of departure gate number 1, Terminal 3 IGI Airport, a police officer said.

The crowd which caused a traffic jam outside demanded a refund or alternative arrangement for their relatives who were present inside the terminal building, Deputy Commissioner of Police (airport) Tanu Sharma said.

When they were told that the flights had been cancelled without any prior intimation, they became agitated. They were pacified by the CISF and the airport staff.

Two flights of Lufthansa, one of them scheduled to depart at 2.50am for Frankfurt with 300 passengers, and another for Munich with 400 passengers and scheduled to depart at 1.10am, were cancelled, the DCP said.

Both flights were cancelled by the Lufthansa headquarters due to a one-day strike of all Lufthansa pilots demanding salary appraisals, police said. 

The airline is taking steps to make alternative arrangements, the police said.