New Delhi, Aug. 12: The Indian travel industry scrambled today to find seats for British Airways passengers stranded at airports here by the strike at Heathrow.

BA flights between Heathrow and Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta were scrapped along with hordes of others as the airline reported some 100 of its aircraft were stuck at wrong places along with crew numbering a thousand.

“Passengers are undoubtedly feeling troubled but they are being adjusted with other airlines,” said Balbir Singh Mayal, president of the Travel Agents’ Association of India.

He said travel agents had not yet seen cancellations, but a shift away from one airline to another. Passengers scheduled to fly BA were being either put on other airlines or booked into a hotel.

Praveen Chugh, vice-president of the Travel Agents’ Federation of India, however, said: “It is peak season and all airlines are completely booked. Since all carriers flying to the UK are going chock-a-block, passengers are finding it hard to get seats on other airlines. But as of now, the situation is very much under control.”

Travel agents cautioned if the problem continued for a day or two, a crisis could develop. There were signs late tonight that BA had resumed services.

Air-India, which also uses Gate Gourmet, BA’s on-board catering service whose staff have gone on strike, said it had not been affected. “Flights and flight catering were on course as usual,” it said.

Some in the travel industry argue that whatever the crisis, the consumer should not suffer. “As a service industry, we just cannot go on strike. There should be some regulation to prevent such chaos,” said Subhash Goyal, the president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

Goyal said the havoc caused at Heathrow should prompt the Indian civil aviation industry to think of building more than one airport in all major cities.