Ever been on a trip with the plane all to yourself? Well, it’s highly unlikely, but then its 2020 and anything is possible! Three Indians traveling from India to UAE had a one of a kind experience after flight services resumed between India and UAE. A 65-year-old man, and a 6-year old girl had an entire flight to themselves while flying from India to UAE. In addition, another young woman had just one co-passenger on her trip from India to UAE.
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Sasikumar, Diya & Thinley Bhutia Travelled On The First Repatriation Flight From India
On 14 July 2020, K.S. Sasikumar boarded his flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Sharjah. To his surprise, he was the only passenger aboard and he had the whole flight to himself. Sasikumar runs his own business in the UAE and had been too Kerala on 12 March. He planned to return on 26 March. However, he got stranded due to flight suspensions. His ICA approval was rejected twice and even expire once. But luckily, he was able to come back to the UAE when India and UAE signed the air bubble agreement. As per the agreement, flight resumed from 12 July.
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Sasikumar managed to book a ticket from Thiruvananthapuram to Sharjah on 14 July. The flight landed with 151 passengers, but he was surprised he was the only one flying back. “It was nothing short of a VIP treatment”, explains Sasikumar.
Six year old Diya Mariya flew alone from Chennai to Abu Dhabi on 25 July. The airline had initially informed Diya’s parents that she will not be able to fly without a COVID-19 negative PCR test report from Pure Health-approved labs as per a fresh announcement made that week. Diya was on vacation at her grandparents’ house and apparently, her grandmother had missed that call. Hence, they ended up reaching the airport to catch the flight.
Although Diya’s journey was a doubtful, she was allowed to fly after discussion with the higher officials. Diya’s mother Sajitha Pauly was a member of the “#TakeMeToMom” social media campaign launched by Indian mothers in the UAE whose children were stuck back home during the pandemic. After she landed in Abu Dhabi, Diya was escorted to her anxious mother.
“Diya was the face of children who got stranded in India during the pandemic. Her solo flight was historic. Mothers in our group were very happy when she reached,” said Dr. Nita Salam, a founder administrator of the #TakeMeToMom group.
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Thinley Youden Bhutia had just one co-passenger when she flew from Delhi to Sharjah on 12 July. Bhutia was stuck in her home town in Sikkim and was booked on the first flight from India to UAE. Upon arrival at the gate she realized that she was boarding the flight with just one co-passenger. Although she felt a bit awkward, she was relieved it was safer.