Stranded passengers demand 'justice' at Delhi airport after Lufthansa cancels flights

New Delhi: Chaos reigned at IGI airport’s Terminal-3 on Friday after Lufthansa airline cancelled two of its flights due to a pilots' strike stranding hundreds of passengers. Around 700 passengers were stranded at Terminal-3, police said. More than 100 relatives and family members of the stranded passengers later gathered outside the airport and demanded refund or alternate arrangements. Among the passengers, many were students studying abroad whose classes are scheduled to start soon. The passengers, visibly distraught and mostly in their early twenties, sat down at the airport with their luggage and shouted “We want justice”. A few, after waiting for several hours, left the airport disheartened. “I have been at the airport for the last several hours. I cannot wait this long. I have decided to leave,” a student said. Passengers alleged that no help was provided by the airport authorities. “We have been given no food, no accommodation and no flight re-booking. We are stranded here. Our classes are starting next week. We need to go back urgently,” said one passenger. Several of them also took to social media, urging the government for help. “All @lufthansa flights cancelled Sir, please help us..We are students, senior citizens and so many people stranded here in Indira Gandhi Aiport, Terminal 3. We are stuck here. Staff has vanished,” a passenger tweeted. A senior police officer said at 12.15 am on Friday, they got the information that a crowd had gathered in front of departure gate number 1 at IGI Airport. Lufthansa had on Thursday said the strike announced by the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) will have a massive impact on flight operations on Friday. “Lufthansa has to cancel 800 flights at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich for Friday, with single flights also being cancelled as early as today, Thursday, September 1. An estimated 1,30,000 passengers will be affected in view of the upcoming weekend, the end of the holidays in some parts of Europe. “Lufthansa is working with joint forces to return its flight operations to a normal status as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the effects of the strike may still lead to individual flight cancellations or delays this Saturday and Sunday,” it had said in a statement. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.