AW | 2016 12 11 03:20 | AIRPORTS

Turistas evacuados luchan para volar a casa

Port Blair, Andaman . El aeropuerto internacional de Veer Savarkar en Port Blair, la puerta de entrada a las islas Andamán vio escenas caóticas del sábado como del personal de seguridad docenas, los funcionarios de policía, así como los de la administración del distrito intentaron controlar multitudes de turistas, muchos de los cuales habían sido evacuados y llevado a la ciudad a sólo horas antes mientras se esforzaban por reprogramar sus reservas de vuelos o conseguir entradas frescas para ir a casa.Casi 2.500 turistas habían sido rescatados en un lapso de dos días – viernes y sábado – después de que fueron atrapados en las Havelock y Neil islas, a 40 km de Port Blair siguientes vientos ciclónicos intensos que le habían cortado las islas desde el continente.

Funcionarios de la administración del distrito dijeron que estaban haciendo todo lo posible para garantizar el retorno seguro de los turistas a sus hogares. «Más de 2.500 turistas han sido evacuados por nosotros. Todos ellos son, comprensiblemente, tiene prisa por volver a casa. Pero los recursos de las compañías aéreas están ya al límite. Todos los vuelos están completos, ya que es la temporada de máximo trabajo, por tanto, es difícil para las aerolíneas para dar cabida a los turistas en el último minuto. Air India ha anunciado dos vuelos de socorro – a Chennai y Kolkata -. para los turistas varados en el aeropuerto el sábado Estamos coordinando con las compañías aéreas privadas también para ayudar a los turistas «, dijo Udipt Prakash Rai, comisionado adjunto, Andamán del Sur.

De acuerdo con un funcionario del aeropuerto, el problema se ha agravado como una aerolínea privada había cancelado sus vuelos desde los últimos dos días dando como resultado una enorme acumulación de pasajeros que esperan para volar fuera. «Estamos a la espera de que la situación sería normalizado dentro de unos días», dijo.

Chaos at Andaman Airport

Chaos at Andaman airport as evacuated tourists struggle to fly home

Port Blair: Veer Savarkar international airport at Port Blair, the gateway to the Andaman islands saw chaotic scenes on Saturday as dozens of security personnel, police officials as well as those from the district administration tried to control crowds of tourists many of whom had been evacuated and brought to the city just hours earlier as they struggled to reschedule their flight bookings or get fresh tickets to go home. Almost 2500 tourists had been rescued over a span of two days Friday and Saturday — after they were stuck at the Havelock and Neil islands, 40 km from Port Blair following intense cyclonic winds that had cut off the islands from the mainland.

Even as the evacuated tourists reached Port Blair, most made a beeline to the airport to try and figure out their return plans. Many had missed their flights and were clueless on what their next step should be. Jaishree Agasthi, a 63-year-old from Mumbai, was one of those who was struggling along with her husband to get on any flight that would take them out of Port Blair. «We are a group of 25 elderly persons. The past few days have been a nightmare for us to say the least. There was no concern shown for the elderly even when we were stuck at Neil island. We had repeatedly informed officials that our return journey was on Friday night. Even though rescue operations had begun on Friday morning, we were not given priority as a result of which we reached Port Blair on Saturday afternoon and had already missed our flight.»

District administration officials said that they were doing their best to ensure safe return of the tourists to their homes. «Over 2500 tourists have been evacuated by us. All of them are understandably in a hurry to get back home. But the resources of the airlines are already stretched. All flights are fully booked as it is peak business season, hence it is difficult for airlines to accommodate tourists at the last minute. Air India has announced two relief flights, to Chennai and Kolkata,  for the stranded tourists at the airport on Saturday. We are coordinating with private airlines as well to help out the tourists,» said Udipt Prakash Rai, deputy commissioner, South Andamans.

According to an airport official, the problem had been compounded as a private airline had cancelled its flights since the past two days resulting in a huge backlog of passengers waiting to fly out. «We are expecting that the situation would be normalised in a few days,» he said. AW

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SOURCE: indiatimes.com
DBk: Photographic © Panoramio
AW-POST: 201612110320AR

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