BRITISH COMMUNITY JUMPS TO THE AID OF TRAPPED AIR PASSENGERS

PALMA
THE British business community in Majorca yesterday leapt to the aid of air passengers trapped at Palma airport with all flights to the UK, Northern and Central Europe grounded for a third day by the volcanic ash cloud hanging over Western and Central Europe.

Yesterday morning, Adam Goodfellow, the owner of Grand Central Auctioneers in Magalluf, put out a call for help on Facebook and received a massive response from the British community.

Adam and his wife Steph made their first aid run to the airport early yesterday afternoon laden with toys for children and basic hygiene items. “I didn't know what to really expect. “We've had offers of food and drink from pubs but I thought I would have a look at the situation at the airport first before committing people to making sandwiches etc.,” Adam said. “It appears that the tour operators have taken care of all their clients and even easyJet, from what stranded passengers at the airport were telling us, have taken care of their passengers too. “However, there must have been between 100 and 150 people queuing at the Ryanair office,” said Adam. “Obviously, all the check in desks are closed and some of the snack machines are bare,” he added. “When I made the announcement to the queue of passengers about what we were doing and had on offer, they gave us a round of applause. “The kids were really pleased with the toys and crayons etc. but once we got talking to the stranded travellers it was clear that they needed food and water so, instead of heading back to Magalluf and Santa Ponsa, we decided to head round to Carrefour and stock up ourselves. “We bought a couple of hundred bottles of water, small cups, cereal bars, baguettes, croissants nourishing stuff,” Adam said. “We decided instead of wasting the time on the road, it would be quicker to pop round to the supermarket. “The airport staff were also really appreciative of our efforts, they too are doing their best to make the trapped passengers comfortable,” he added. “We also heard some nightmare stories, people who had booked hotels for the night but had no money left and were just going to turn up and chance it,” he added. “What we'll do when we get back to the resort is tour round the bars and businesses which have offered help and stock up for a return visit in the morning. “I guess we'll keep going until the situation returns to normal and these people can finally fly home,” he said.
By late last night nearly 300 flights had been cancelled over the past three days in the Balearics and nearly 40'000 people trapped on the island.
The Playa de Palma Hotel Association said that those hotels which were open were fully booked.
The closure of Western and Central European airspace was also beginning to have a knock on effect on domestic flight services in Spain because aircraft due to cover the routes are grounded elsewhere in Europe and unable to get to key connecting airports like Palma.

Airport sources are warning that clearing the backlog of passengers could take days.