India-UAE travel: Stranded expats eye charter flights as last resort

Dubai - There has also been a drastic drop in outbound traffic from the UAE to India.

With the India-UAE travel suspended ‘until further notice’, some stranded expats are eyeing charter flights as a last resort, while some have no choice but to wait for the restriction to be lifted.

There has also been a drastic drop in outbound traffic from the UAE to India, with many expats cancelling or postponing their vacations due to the uncertainty of when they would be able to return.

Expat Shradha Salla, who has been stranded with her two daughters in India’s financial capital Mumbai, will wait until the end of this month before taking a call on returning on a charter flight.

“We were planning to return to Dubai in April and, suddenly, this happened. Since then, we have been waiting. I haven’t seen my husband since November. I will look at a charter as a last-ditch attempt. I’m now mentally prepared to wait until the end of July. If flights open before that, I will be on the first flight,” Shradha said.

“To be honest, I did look at private charters and considered that as an option. But then every time I started looking, there were chances of the suspension being lifted and we kept waiting. I’m not keen on an alternative route since we have to quarantine for 14 days,” added Shradha, whose relocation plans have taken a hit.

Sanket Sarnobat, who works in the hospitality industry, said he had no option but to wait until flights resume.

Sarnobat had travelled to his home in Mumbai on vacation on February 25 and had extended it by another month. “The company called and asked if I could return just before the travel suspension took effect, but I couldn’t do anything at the last minute,” said the expat, who managed to keep his job but had to deal with some pay cuts.

james@khaleejtimes.com