By Ivan Pereira
With hundreds of European travelers stranded by the Icelandic volcanic disruption, parts of John F. Kennedy International Airport looked like something out of a scene from the comedy film “The Terminal.”
But some passengers who were yearning to return home were not laughing.
Since late last Thursday, tourists had been anxiously waiting to see if they could board a flight to get back to England, France, Switzerland and other European destinations, but the cloud of volcanic ash that had been hovering in the atmosphere did not begin to dissipate until Tuesday. Only a few flights took off from JFK to Europe Tuesday, forcing hundreds of reluctant passengers to extend their stay in New York.
Amanda Consoli, 28, of Italy, who was on her honeymoon with her husband, Domenico, said she had nearly run out of money and had to stay an extra week because there were no flights to her country for that time.
“We’ve been stuck since Saturday. We’re fed up here,” she said as she waited to get more information from British Airways officials at the airline’s JFK terminal.
Some passengers were able to get rooms at the hotels and lodges near Kennedy. Chris Took, 28, a sales director from Wales who was in America on a business trip, was staying at the Ramada JFK Plaza hotel on the Van Wyck Expressway and said he was comfortable with his accommodations.
“I’m surviving,” said the traveler, who was also stranded in New York for three weeks because of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. “There is only so much airport you can see.”
Others were not as lucky. Dozens of passengers who could not afford or find a suitable lodging slept in the airport’s waiting areas.
At Terminal 4, emergency cots and blankets were set up around the upper area of the food court and passengers tried their best to pass the time with books, Nintendo DS or playing cards. The sight was similar to the 2004 movie “The Terminal,” in which an Eastern European traveler had to live out of JFK because his fictional country experienced a surprise political change that prevented him from going home or immigrating to the United States.
“It’s just one of those things that you can’t get worked up over,” said Louise Buchanan, a British tourist.
Diane Bratt, a 42-year-old visitor from Plymouth, England, who was in New York with her husband celebrating their third anniversary, said that although she would rather be home, the airport and airline staff had been there for her every need.
Bratt, who is three months pregnant, said Virgin Airlines officials were able to get her medicine needed for her pregnancy.
“It’s not too bad here,” she said as she took a break from resting on her cot to check out any updates on flights at the Virgin counter in Terminal 4.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
