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| Comtel Air cancels Amritsar to Birmingham flights | Comtel Air cancels Amritsar to Birmingham flights |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| An airline accused of asking passengers to pay extra for fuel to fly home has cancelled UK flights at the weekend. | An airline accused of asking passengers to pay extra for fuel to fly home has cancelled UK flights at the weekend. |
| A Comtel Air flight from Amritsar to Birmingham was grounded in Vienna on Tuesday by its Spanish carrier Mint Lineas Aereas due to financial issues. | A Comtel Air flight from Amritsar to Birmingham was grounded in Vienna on Tuesday by its Spanish carrier Mint Lineas Aereas due to financial issues. |
| Passengers were returned to Birmingham but said they were asked to pay up to 150 Euros to continue their journey. | Passengers were returned to Birmingham but said they were asked to pay up to 150 Euros to continue their journey. |
| Birmingham Airport, which confirmed the cancellations, said anyone due to travel should contact their agent. | Birmingham Airport, which confirmed the cancellations, said anyone due to travel should contact their agent. |
| A spokesman for the airport added: "Clearly, we are very concerned about this situation and understand the distress that this is causing those passengers directly involved and their loved ones. | A spokesman for the airport added: "Clearly, we are very concerned about this situation and understand the distress that this is causing those passengers directly involved and their loved ones. |
| "We stress that we are very disappointed that the operator is having these problems this week and we are working hard to provide some clarity going forward." | |
| The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said passengers who booked their Comtel flight as part of a travel package would be protected by the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Atol) scheme run by the CAA in the UK. | |
| Customers who booked flight-only deals would not automatically be covered though, it said. | |
| Daljit from West Bromwich said her mother and brother were among those passengers who were grounded during refuelling in Vienna on Tuesday. | |
| She said: "They did make it back after paying £130 each while they were stuck in Vienna. | |
| "They should have got back here on Saturday, that was the original date to come back, and my brother had to start work on Monday so he's lost that because he didn't make it back on time." | |
| Dalbir Panesar from West Bromwich said his wife and son were due to fly back from India with Comtel Air on Sunday. | |
| He said: "The first time they realised something was wrong was when they got to the airport. All the people meant to fly with Comtel on Saturday were still at the airport. | |
| "The airport haven't been looking after the people who are stranded at all. My wife told me that there was a 12 month old baby, but there was no milk available for it. There was no water or food and there are so many children and elderly people." | |
| In October the Austrian-registered airline contracted the Spanish carrier firm Mint Lineas Aereas (MLA) to operate a service between Birmingham and Amritsar. | |
| Staying with relatives | |
| The airline said on Thursday it was owed money by English travel agents along its supply chain, which is why it had not paid MLA since last month. | |
| In a statement on Thursday, MLA said: "Due to unresolved financial questions, it was decided by Mint Lineas Aereas as operating carrier to stop operations for Comtel Air." | |
| The British High Commission said on Thursday it was not aware of any Birmingham-bound Comtel Air passengers who were stranded at the airport in Amritsar. | |
| It said it believed most of the passengers who were due to fly back to the UK in the coming days were of Indian origin and were staying with relatives. |