Australia announced a temporary ban on direct passenger flights from India, as India grapples with a massive surge in coronavirus infections. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the suspension would remain in place until at least May 15 due to the risk of infection. However, this decision left several Australians, including the high-profile cricketers stranded. The flight ban comes after a man who returned from his wedding in India infected others in quarantine. The virus then spread to others prompting states like Canberra to toughen their approach to travel from India.
Thousands Of Australians Are Stranded In India
While India endures a terrible humanitarian crisis, families with ties to Australia are getting badly affected. The families of Australians stranded in India are urging the Morrison government to establish a quarantine solution that would allow their loved ones to return home. Some 9,000 Australians in India are waiting for the situation to improve as the airports have essentially closed off any option to leave India. Maldives, Italy, Germany & 9 Other Countries Impose Travel Ban From India Over COVID Variant Cases.
Australia To Focus Of Repatriation Of Flights For The Most Vulnerable
Morrison said in a statement “I don’t see those Australians of Indian heritage as a problem we have to solve, not at all, and I am concerned that’s how some may have been seeing this. These are Australians and Australian residents who need our help and we intend to ensure that we are able to restore, particularly the repatriation flights, and that those repatriation flights focus on the most vulnerable.”
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Many Australians Have Been Stranded In India Since 2019
The plight of many Australians stranded in India is heartbreaking. Gagandeep Singh has not seen his three-year-old son since September 2019. The father of a boy who has been in India since 2019 wants to be able to fly to the country to bring his son home. Flights from India have been suspended until at least mid-May.
Another Shivang Desai, 28, travelled to Ahmedabad in western India in 2019 to set up an international education business but has been unable to return to Australia since then. With coronavirus cases breaking records in India, Shivang, his wife, and his parents don’t feel safe in the country and desperately want to return to their home in Sydney.
Australian citizens trapped in India are heartbroken by the government’s decision to suspend flights between the countries. They are pleading for repatriation for flights for those stranded.
First Published: April 28, 2021 1:26 PM