India-UAE flights: Expats desperate to return after being stranded for 2 months

Dubai - Inbound passenger movement suspended till July 6, says Air India Express.

Indian budget carrier Air India Express, on Tuesday, announced that UAE has suspended ‘all inbound passenger movement’ from the country till July 6.

The airline issued an alert to this effect on Tuesday stating that the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority ((GCAA) has extended the suspension. The airline has advised passengers to reschedule their tickets for travel at a future date. However, UAE national carriers Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways, at the time of print, have retained that the suspension would last till June 30.

Khaleej Times reached out to other Indian and UAE budget carriers, including Spice Jet and flydubai, who said they haven’t received any notifications from the GCAA regarding an extension on the travel suspension.

The suspension of incoming passenger traffic from India to the UAE began on April 24. It was extended on May 4 by the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) in light of a deadly second wave of Covid-19 currently affecting India.

The sudden suspension on incoming passenger traffic from India to UAE has left thousands of Indian expatriates stranded in India.

Expatriates desperate to return home to UAE

A majority of the expatriates travelled to India to meet with loved ones or attend to urgent health or financial matters. Several residents Khaleej Times reached out to said they have been stuck there for the past two months at least and are now suffering loss of pay due to extended leaves. Many also fear that the longer they stay in India they would lose their jobs in that time.

A vast majority are also facing issues as their visas are expired or nearing expiry. Amrutha Shetty, a UAE resident said her husband Sachin and one-year-old son Samarth have been stuck in India for the last two months. “On June 4, my husband's visa expired. However, our visa is valid as it was renewed recently. We cannot stay here and renew his visa and there is no clarity on what can be done either. We feel helpless.”

Mohammed Akhil, a father whose wife and children and stranded in India, said, “I work for a private sector company in Dubai. My family left for India to deliver our second child and we were prepared to return after my daughter’s birth. Their visa is valid till January 2022, but they’ve been outside the country for over six months, which completed on May 16. My second daughter’s entry permit is also valid till June 16.”

Akhil said he issued these visas by spending huge amounts from his own pocket. “There is no clarity on whether I need to re-apply for my family’s visa. It is an extremely stressful situation.”

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com