A lot of UAE expats continue to remain stranded in India, due to the Covid crisis. On 10 July, India’s civil aviation authority announced a 15-day window for UAE residents stuck in India to return home. As per the rules, those with valid approvals from the UAE authorities can now return home to the UAE, starting July 12 to July 26. Hours after the news broke open, tickets on the Air India website displayed ‘sold out’ messages. On that note, Air India Opens Evacuation Flight Bookings To Select International Destinations.
UAE-Bound Expats Spend AED 390,000 For Private Jet
Luck had it real bad for an expat couple who were to fly to Dubai in a private jet. Deval Kartik and her husband were to board a private jet flight- the ticket of which cost a whopping AED 390,000. To their dismay, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) barred all approvals for operation of private jets from July 8 until July 10.
Deval Kartik, a Dubai resident and professor of marketing said they now had very little hope about when they would get back home. Besides, Deval had recently undergone a complex surgery. Despite this, she braved the trip from Ahmedabad to Mumbai to catch the jet – which didn’t take off.
Kartik flew to India on the Vande Bharat Mission flight for a bone tumour surgery. After her operation, she hoped commercial operations would begin on July 1, but it didn’t happen as the Indian government announced that flights will remain suspended.
“My husband got a special permission from his organisation to travel with me as my surgery was a priority. He now needs to get back to work. Out of desperation, we decided to take a charter jet to Dubai from Mumbai. We arrived here last night, and now we are stuck,” Deval said to Khaleej Times. In other news, Emirates Resumes Flights To 6 More Cities.
The scenario is not reserved to Deval alone. Srinivasa Rao, happens to be another stranded Indian expat who spent a lot of money for a one-way ticket. Rao flew to India with his family for a 10-day vacation. After waiting for months, he arranged a private jet costing AED 7,500 per ticket. With the current suspension of private jets, Rao is now left with an endless wait. His two young daughters have been alone in Dubai for four months now.
Also, did you know- 8 Lakh Indians May Be Forced To Leave Kuwait As Expat Bill Gets Cleared.
Indian Expats Can Return To UAE From 12 July
A special Air India flight from New Delhi, will land in Sharjah around 10.40 am on Sunday, 12 July. Flights from both Air India and Air India Express will be landing in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, while Spice Jet has announced flights to Ras Al Khaimah. In addition, SpiceJet will also operate passenger flights from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kozhikode and Kochi to Ras Al Khaimah between July 12-26 for eligible ICA-approved UAE residents. These are the first flights that will return to the UAE from India since March 19.
