Chaos, protests at Delhi airport as Lufthansa cancels 800 flights globally

New Delhi, Sep 02: Confusion and chaos prevailed at Delhi airport after Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa airline cancelled 800 flights globally which left around 700 passengers stranded at the T3 terminal of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

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

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

Stranded passengers demanded a refund or alternate arrangement for their relatives who were present inside the terminal building

"I was supposed to go to Germany by Lufthansa airlines but the flight got cancelled. I have booked tickets with Emirate airlines and will be now going via Dubai where I have a layover of 14 hrs. We're yet to know when we'll get the refund, says a passenger quoted saying by news agency ANI.

Lufthansa airline operates two flights from Delhi to Frankfurt and Munich, which were cancelled on Friday.

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

Lufthansa said while it was working to normalise the situation, "isolated cancellations or delays" on Saturday or Sunday were also possible.

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

As inflation soars, strikes for higher pay by airport crews in France and Scandinavian Airlines pilots in Sweden, Norway and Denmark have deepened the chaos for travellers who have faced last-minute cancellations, lengthy delays, lost luggage or long waits for bags in airports across Europe.

Travel is booming this summer after two years of COVID-19 restrictions, swamping airlines and airports that don't have enough workers after pandemic-era layoffs.