Covid-19: Indian expats rushing back to UAE as flight suspension date nears

Covid-19: Indian expats rushing back to UAE as flight suspension date nears

With the ban on flights from India to the UAE for 10 days from Sunday, there is a sudden rush of passengers, mainly expats, wanting to return to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other parts of the UAE.

Airline sources here confirm the rush but say that only those who have Covid tests done 48 hours before the flight and have a negative report, will be allowed to fly to the UAE.

An agency report cited a woman passenger who is scheduled to travel from Kolkata to Dubai on Saturday 2am, making desperate attempts to advance the departure by a day to avoid getting caught up in last-minute hitches.

“I just wanted to make sure whether I will be allowed to board on my existing ticket as April 24 should mean the midnight separating Friday and Saturday,” she told an agency.

“When all my calls went unanswered, I had to take a quick call and make a new booking for a Friday morning flight.”

India-UAE is one of the busiest routes globally, especially from Mumbai and Delhi to Dubai. Thousands of Indians also take flights to cities in the US, Canada and Europe via