Travellers staring at two-week wait

Passengers trying to fly out of New Zealand to Europe are expected to be stranded here for at least two weeks, even if the ash cloud from Iceland's erupting volcano clears this week.

About half the scheduled flights across Europe were expected to be given the all-clear overnight as some countries announced full or partial re-openings of airspace.

In Britain, however, the airspace was to remain closed until at least midday today and experts have warned there could be weeks of disruption as the volcano continues to spew out dangerous plumes of ash cloud which could harm aircraft engines.

While millions of travellers, including thousands of New Zealanders, are stranded overseas, the number of passengers waiting here to fly out of the country is growing.

Flight Centre has more than 2000 passengers due to fly to the UK alone this week. House of Travel has around 3000 people due to leave for Europe and the UK by the end of this week.

If the airspace reopens people booked to fly on that day will get to go but passengers who have already missed flights will have to go on waiting lists for any available seats.

Many of those travellers are New Zealanders, but a large portion are tourists eager to get home.

Many of them are now unsure when that will happen, as airlines say it could take up to two weeks to clear the backlog. That estimate will stretch with each day that international airspace remains closed.

Some passengers at Auckland Airport were told yesterday May 10 was the earliest they would be able to leave the country.

Air New Zealand spokesman Mark Street said customers who were unable to fly because of cancelled flights have the choice of cancelling their trips and getting a refund or rebooking at a later date.

The earliest flights available for new bookings are at least two weeks away.

Those who have already missed flights and still want to fly are on a waiting list that will be activated once flights resume.

It is unclear how long it will take to clear that waiting list as there will be only a limited number of seats and flights available.

Mr Street said extra flights might be put on but other factors, such as limited landing space at international airports, could affect that.

House of Travel retail director Brent Thomas said the best advice for people due to travel this week was to consider postponing the trip and rebooking at a later date.

People were urged to also contact their travel insurers to see what they advised when considering whether to proceed with their plans.

Mr Thomas said the disruption caused by the ash cloud was bigger than that caused by the events of September 11, 2001. An IATA report released last week indicated the initial impact on airlines would be more than $280 million a day in lost revenues.

However, while airlines are losing money by the day the hospitality industry is flourishing.

Travel agents are reporting difficulties in getting accommodation in many centres holding stranded travellers, including Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Singapore and Dubai.

People already in accommodation say nightly rates have doubled since the airport closures.

In Britain ferries are full, with some people taking desperate measures to get on board. Eurostar's high-speed trains out of London are also full with reports that ticket prices have doubled.

In New Zealand stranded passengers are being offered assistance by families who are opening their homes.

Tourism Auckland chief executive Graeme Osborne said 35 tourists had been hosted by Auckland families since Sunday morning. That number was expected to increase.

A Facebook page called Stranded in New Zealand, which started yesterday, also has offers of assistance for tourists from people throughout the country.

Meanwhile, New Zealand companies are having mixed reactions to the disruption.

Some are starting to report unexpected increases in business from Asia and America as they struggle to source products from Britain and Europe, while other exporters are suffering by not being able to get their perishable goods into European markets.

Export New Zealand executive director Catherine Beard said the exporters most at risk are those with perishable products such as seafood, flowers, or even high-value time-sensitive exports such as high-tech products.


Soaring costs add to heartache

Stranded in Hong Kong, LA, the UK and Europe:

* Accommodation now scarce for people stopping en route to Europe. Huge rate increases.

* Ferries full and people taking desperate measures to get on board.

* Eurostar's high-speed trains out of London are also full. Reports that ticket prices have doubled.

Waiting to fly out of New Zealand:

* Thousands of travellers due to fly out of Auckland this week still in doubt about whether they will.

* Travellers booked on flights to UK and Europe told not to fly or risk doing so at their own expense.

* No UK/European flights available out of Auckland for at least two weeks. People already stranded here are on waiting lists.

Your stories

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