UAE: Family forgets Covid info form; barred from boarding India flight

Dubai - The family was in Dubai for a month to visit their relatives.

An Indian citizen and his aged parents missed their Dubai to Mumbai flight on Tuesday morning as they didn't fill the Air Suvidha self-declaration form, Khaleej Times has learnt.

Media professional Aakash Chaturvedi and his parents, aged 63 and 58 respectively, were not allowed to board the Air India flight AI1948, which departed from Dubai at 11.30am to Mumbai, Maharashtra. The family was in Dubai for a month to visit their relatives.

Chaturvedi said he and his parents, and at least eight other passengers, were not allowed to board the flight since they had not registered on the Air Suvidha portal and were not carrying copies of the mandatory self-declaration form.

Meanwhile, top Air India officials pointed out that as per the new travel regulations set by the government of India, which came into force on February 22, passengers will not be allowed to board the flight if they are not carrying the required documents.

An official in Dubai told Khaleej Times: “We are following the practice set out by the national carriers in the UAE. It is mandatory that all passengers carry two copies of the self-declaration form and the RT PCR report.”

‘We paid Dh35 per form per passenger at airport’

Though Chaturvedi tried to register on the website while he was at the airport with the help of airport staff, the site kept crashing causing the family to miss their flight. “We arrived at the airport at 9am. At the check-in counter, we were told we cannot board the flight unless we have the form. I tried to register at the airport, but unfortunately, the site kept crashing. We could not even reach the immigration check counter,” said a distressed Chaturvedi.

When he requested for help, ticketing officials at the airport directed him to a counter where the staff were offering to fill the form and provide copies for Dh35 per passenger. “I paid the money as well, however, due to technical glitches on the website, we ended up missing our flight,” he said.

“In our case, we were able to book another set of flight tickets. But what about workers who are unaware and cannot afford to spend money at the airport? What about the ones who are not literate to understand such procedures? I noticed one of the passengers breaking down at the airport due to the confusion. It is a huge loss for many,” added Chaturvedi.

According to the Air India official: “Airlines get heavily penalised if they send passengers to India without the Air Suvidha form. We request passengers not to start their journey without required documents. Under all circumstances, passengers must fill the form from home and leave. Only then can they avoid hassles at the airport.”

The official also stated that all passengers are informed via SMS texts about the documents that they need to carry. “All passengers are sent messages at least a day or two prior their flight. We do not want passengers to miss their flights, it leads to loss of revenue for the airline,” he explained.

However, Chaturvedi said he did not receive any such text message or e-mails from the airline. “I keep getting a lot of promotional messages from Air India. However, I did not get any such text. The staff were also very rude to us at the airport; however, I understand the need for such protocols to be in place. This should not happen to other passengers as they run into the risk of getting stuck in a foreign country,” he pointed out.

Passengers to India must have these documents:

All passengers, including children and infants, must submit a self‑declaration form (SDF) under the Air Suvidha section on the online portal before the scheduled departure with complete contact details and address. Passengers will receive an approval code that must be presented at the time of departure.

They must mention clearly in the SDF whether they plan to disembark at the arrival airport or take transit flights. Transit passengers must present the 'T' (Transit) receipt on their SDF to state authority/ government of India.