Calcutta, April 16: Closure of much of the airspace across northern and western Europe following a volcanic eruption in Iceland has hit hundreds of Europe-bound passengers from the city.

Flights from Europe from across the country and connecting flights from destinations abroad were cancelled throughout the day.

“Everybody is confused. A number of passengers are already cancelling or deferring tickets,” said Anil Punjabi, chairman, Travel Agents Federation of India (East).

On an average, more than 100 passengers from Calcutta fly to Europe everyday. Sources said hundreds of passengers bound for Calcutta were stuck at various airports in Europe.

“Air India has suspended all west-bound flights to the US, Europe and Canada in the next 48 hours,” an airline spokesperson said today. “The flights already re-scheduled for April 16 will be operated on a delayed basis, as and when the European air space opens up. Passengers have been asked to contact the airline before leaving for the airport.

An Air India flight from Calcutta to London, via Delhi, was cancelled at Delhi today. Lufthansa will announce tomorrow whether it would operate its scheduled Sunday morning flight from Calcutta to Frankfurt.

“Lufthansa is complying with the directives issued by various ministries and air traffic control and hence, has cancelled all scheduled flights from India to Frankfurt,” said an official of the airport.

Jet Airways has cancelled all its flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to London and Brussels. “We are monitoring the situation closely and will resume flights once Heathrow and Brussels airports reopen,” a Jet official said.

The series of cancellations has left all parking bays at the Delhi airport booked, prompting the authorities to divert to Calcutta a British Airways cargo flight from London.