Repatriation of Indian nationals from UAE to start from May 7, first to Kerala

The first two special flights that will operate from Thursday to evacuate Indians stranded in the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic will begin with applicants from Kerala, who formed the majority of the expatriates who have registered to be repatriated from here, Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor has said. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7.

"The missions have prioritized the list of passengers and have given it to Air India. We would call and email each passenger to contact Air India to get their tickets issued. The first two flights on Thursday would be to Kerala, considering the high number of applicants from the state," Kapoor was quoted as saying by the Gulf News. He said the priority list includes blue collar workers in distress, people with medical emergencies, including the elderly and pregnant women, and those who have lost jobs, the report added.

The passenger list for the two flights -- Abu Dhabi to Kochi and Dubai to Kozhikode -- will be finalized by the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, and the Consulate General of India, Dubai, the Indian Consulate in Dubai announced on Monday. The list will be made on the basis of registrations in the Embassy or Consulate database which was launched for this purpose a few days back, it added.

The envoy said that there would be flights almost on a daily basis to destinations mentioned by the applicants. In Kochi, a defence ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that a naval ship has been sent to Dubai. The INS Shardul was diverted to Dubai to evacuate the expatriates and it will return to Kochi, he said. A total of 200,000 expatriates have registered so far to travel back to India. Stranded visit/tourist visa holders and those with canceled visas would also be given preference in returning home. Nearly 20 Indians who were stranded at Dubai Airport would also be given priority, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul was quoted as saying by the report. Meanwhile, air tickets for repatriation flights to India will not be exorbitantly priced, an official source was quoted as saying by the Khaleej Times on Tuesday.

The official pricing of tickets is yet to be revealed by the Indian ministries of Civil Aviation and External Affair. Also social distancing norms within the aircraft are yet to be notified, the report said. "The ticket prices will be nominal, an amount everyone can afford. However, the final pricing of air tickets will be revealed by the Indian missions in the UAE shortly," said the source. "All departing passengers will have to undergo medical screening and IGM/IGG test at the departure airport and only those cleared by the UAE health authorities and found to be asymptomatic will be allowed to board the plane," the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi said.

According to the embassy, all passengers will be required to sign an undertaking to undergo compulsory quarantine at the destination of arrival and bear the cost of the same. "Each passenger, at the time of boarding would be handed over a safety kit containing 2 three-layered face masks, 2 pairs of gloves and pouches/small bottles of hand sanitizers. While on board the flight, the health protocol of the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India will be strictly followed," said the embassy.

According to the embassy, this would include wearing masks, environmental hygiene, respiratory hygiene, hand hygiene, etc. to be observed by the airline staff, crew and all passengers. On arrival at the destination airport, thermal screening, as per health protocol, would be carried out in respect of all the passengers by the Health officials present at the airport. The passengers found to be symptomatic during screening shall be immediately taken to a medical facility as per the health protocol.

The remaining passengers shall be taken to suitable institutional quarantine facilities, said the statement. These passengers shall be kept under institutional quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days. If they test negative after 14 days, they will be allowed to go home and will undertake self-monitoring of their health for another 14 days as per the protocol.

The passenger lists for the two flights on May 7 have been finalized by the Embassy / Consulate and sent to Air India Express for issue of tickets. The Embassy / Consulate will continue conveying the details of further special flights as and when they are announced by the Government of India, over the next few days. The Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.42 million is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country's population, according to information available on the Indian Embassy website.