PANAJI: Since last Friday an estimated 5,000 tourists have cancelled their flight tickets to Goa as a result of the volcanic eruptions in the Iceland.

Goa’s Dabolim airport receives about six to eight flights a week, said Mr Earnest Dias vice-president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, adding “this has severely affected us as we close down for the season.”
The last Scandinavian airline flight of the season left in time, just before the volcanic eruption took place.
Mr Dias said a call has gone out to all European tourists in Goa to immediately contact their tour operators. “Those who are stranded in Goa are taken care of,” he said.
Mr Martins, managing director of Freedom Holidays said he is expecting Thomas Cook Airline flight in the next 30 hours or earlier to pick up the 320 passengers affected by the closure of the UK airports.
Those who have cancelled their tickets have been refunded in full, he said adding the Dabolim Airport receives about 300 tourists a day.
Meanwhile, the First Choice Boeing 767 which had remained grounded at the  airport for last six days, departed to Scotland on Tuesday evening with 259 passengers onboard.
The airport director, Mr D Paul Manickam informed ‘The Navhind Times’ that the First Choice flight which took off from Dabolim airport  at around 8.30 p.m. on Tuesday had reached Scotland safely in a scheduled time at the wee hours on Wednesday.
Mr Manickam told that the other chartered flights, which are supposed to come down to Goa from various destinations from the European countries are likely to resume their voyage within next two to three days.
The airport director also told that thousands of aircraft which were stranded at various airports have resumed their operations since Tuesday evening adding the air traffic which was affected due to the volcanic eruption since last week is heading towards normalcy.
PTI adds: The Goa’s tourism department has written to Union Home Ministry to extend visas of few of the tourists even as around 1,500 Europeans are estimated to be stranded in the tourist state.
“Nearly 150 tourists were in touch with me. They were apprehensive that the police might arrest them for staying in the state with expired visa. We have written to Ministry of Home Affairs to extend their visas,” state tourism director, Mr Swapnil Naik said on Wednesday morning.
He said that the communication is also made to state police department informing them about the situation prevailing due to cancellation of flights to European destinations.
“State police have no powers to extend visas but we have kept them informed. There are many who were about to leave the state when air traffic ceased,” Mr Naik said.
Goa receives around 4 lakh foreign tourists and current days mark the winding up of the official tourist season with travellers packing their bags to go back
to their homes.