Brussels: Some 200 travellers from
Bangladesh were spending a second day inside Brussels airport
on Friday, without a visa to leave the building and with an ash
cloud grounding all flights out, an airport spokesmen said.
The passengers had been diverted to Brussels yesterday
after their plane was unable to land in London, where airports
were closed due to the spreading cloud of volcanic ash
emanating from Iceland, which has caused havoc for air
travellers across Europe.
Shortly after the group of some 200 Bangladeshis
arrived in Brussels, the whole of Belgian airspace was
likewise closed down for fears that the ash could cause
serious accidents when ingested by plane engines.
"The problem is that they have no visa to enter the
Schengen zone so that`s why they had to stay at the airport
last night," airport spokesman Paul de Backer told AFP.
"We are now looking to see if we can find a solution
with immigration to avoid them staying a second night in these
uncomfortable conditions."
The Shengen border-free zone includes Belgium and most
other EU nations but not Britain.
The stranded group have had to remain flight side at
the airport, as they cannot go through to the public zones.
Some of the Bangladeshi passengers also held British
passports, said De Backer, but he was unsure whether that
group had left the airport, as they would be entitled to do.
PTI
