Britain's High Commissioner to Australia said Tuesday she was concerned about airlines' treatment of tourists unable to return to Europe due to flight cancellations caused by Iceland's volcano.
High Commissioner Valerie Amos said her office had received reports of airlines paying inadequate attention to the plight of passengers stranded in Australia by the closure of European airspace.
"We are concerned about the response from some of the airlines, and we'll be taking that up obviously with the airlines," Amos told reporters in Canberra.
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'Stay in Australia and wait'
"Some airlines seem to provide accommodation and access to reasonable resources, to meals and so on, but only up to a period of time, but it's not clear what that period of time is.
"There is also a concern that some airlines aren't even providing that."
After national airline Qantas cancelled flights to London for another 24 hours, Amos urged British travellers to remain in Australia, rather than taking flights to Asian destinations in the hope of getting home quicker.
"I would certainly urge everyone to stay here in Australia and to wait," she said.
"We are particularly concerned that there are huge numbers of people already at the hub airports across Asia, and we really don't want that situation to get any worse."
