Thiruvananthapuram: Lack of clarity over the quarantine procedure in Kerala forced 30 people, including pregnant women, to cancel their tickets for the first flight from the UAE, bringing back 177 stranded Indian nationals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tickets were mostly cancelled by pregnant women and those with infants. However, people in the waiting list got an opportunity when they backed off at the last-minute. The Indian Embassy had shortlisted 177 people for the first flight from Abu Dhabi as the government began its biggest ever repatriation exercise.
Aneesh Babu, a native of Mala in Thrissur district, had made bookings for his pregnant wife Divya and One-year-old daughter Athidi. They were under the impression that they will be asked to be under home quarantine once they return. However, then an order on mandatory quarantine was issued and they backed off from the journey. Anish said that complications were created as the government changed the decisions frequently.
"My wife suffers from nausea and dizziness. It would be difficult for her to take care of herself and our little daughter without anyone's help during the quarantine. That's why we cancelled the trip. If there were clear instructions on pregnant women, we would not have backed off. Some of my friends' wives also decided against the journey due to similar reasons," Aneesh said.
Another native of Thrissur, Afsal of Chavakkad, too had cancelled trip. He said he was awaiting COVID-19 test results after some of his colleagues were confirmed to have the infection. He said he cancelled the tip, while keeping in mind the safety of his wife Naseela, young children Aisha Samin and Fathima, and that of the other passengers.
Kodungallur native Rajan Babu, who works at Ruwais ADNOC, too cancelled his trip at the last minute as it was difficult to get travel permit from his company at such a short notice of two days.
No COVID-19 test, only thermal screening
Expats returning from Qatar will not be subjected to COVID-19 tests prior to the journey. Only thermal screening will be carried out at the airports. Passengers too said that they have not received any instruction from the Indian Embassy with regard to COVID-19 testing.
Air India has issued tickets to those travelling on Saturday and Sunday. Also, Indian Embassy has resumed the online registrations for those returning home.
No refund on AI tickets?
Complaints were raised after people, who had booked tickets on Air India before the COVID-19 crisis, were asked to take new tickets by paying the full amount. Authorities also allegedly refused to refund the amount or slash the rates of the current tickets.
