Europeans stranded at Long Beach hotel

On Tuesday, the Allegria Hotel in Long Beach continued to accommodate some 175 distressed passengers since last Friday, after Eyjafjallajökull, the Icelandic volcano that brought European air travel to a halt, erupted on April 15.

“Since Friday evening we’ve actually had a hotel full of people,” B.J. Sklar, the hotel’s concierge, said about the stranded guests who consists mainly of airline passengers and some crews from the United Kingdom and Western Europe.

The hotel, located on Broadway and the boardwalk at National Boulevard, contracts with several airlines and has reciprocal agreements with them to be their primary location for their distressed passengers, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Jet Blue and Delta. The hotel has experienced situations, especially during the past winter’s snowstorms, in which airline crews had to stay a day or two longer due to inclement whether, but in the wake of the volcano the hotel faced a unique situation.

“They have absolutely no idea how long they will be staying with us,” Sklar said as distressed passengers wait for the volcano to calm before flights can resume. “It’s really been quite an experience.”

The hotel has not had to cancel bookings in its nearly 90 available rooms even during the busier weekends. The various airlines, particularly British Airways, have been “extremely accommodating” in terms of placing and overseeing their passengers, including meal and transportation vouchers, Sklar said.

She said the hotel has given guests information about places to go in Long Beach, including restaurants, shops and the boardwalk. Some have trekked into Manhattan.

“Each day is just a different scenario because they keep sending out somewhat encouraging reports that these flights will start at least doing some maneuvering to get some airplanes over here in order to start making some travel arrangements,” Sklar said.

Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.