 |
The demand for private jets has been met as the Indians Billionares were able to afford them to escape the Covid surge after the UAE blocked the flight from India for ten days from April 24 due to the dire situation of COVID-19 in the country.
All flights from the UAE to India - one of the busiest airports in the world have been suspended as cases of coronavirus in South Asia reach record levels and cover hospitals.
UAE citizens, national passport holders and official envoys are exempted from the above conditions.
The UAE is home to about 3.3 million Indians who make up a third of the population - most of them in Dubai, one of the seven emirates forming a coalition.
The recent suspension of flights that began operating on Sunday has shut down about 300 aircraft operating weekly in one of the world's busiest airports.
With the exception of low-wage workers on short-term contracts, this sudden move has left family members of long-term wealthy families heading to India for holidays, work or medical emergencies.
Many now live in fear as India's crime rate rises sharply, with 18 million cases and more than 201,000 deaths, and the daily death toll rose by more than 3,000 for the first time on Wednesday.
After the UAE closed its gap to curb the spread of coronavirus in March last year, some residents raised money for seated flights on chartered planes that were allowed to travel to Dubai.
Many legal airlines transport passengers from India to Dubai in the days leading up to the new ban, after all, commercial seats were confiscated, and law firms say demand has risen.
A 13-seater flight from Mumbai to Dubai costs between $ 35,000 to $ 38,000, almost 35 times the price of a standard ticket. Prices from other cities are very high.
But as the need to go up, operators have been in a hurry to clarify the rules surrounding private flights arriving in the UAE.
"The charter aircraft need permission from the General Civil Aviation Authority and the Department of Foreign Affairs to operate. But we do not know who has been exempted," said Tapish Khivensra, chief executive of the Enthrall Aviation Private Jet Charter.
Airlines say UAE people, strategists, law enforcement officials and "business" airlines are excluded from the ban, as long as passengers look for measures that include a ten-day detention.
Longtime Dubai resident Purushothaman Nair said he was ready to "spend a lot of money" to return to the UAE.
"My wife and I arrived in India in just 10 days. We have to return to Dubai by plane," he told AFP.
"There are a lot of people who are willing to pay. How can people with business interests and big responsibilities in the UAE stay longer?" said Nair, who works in the public sector.
"Fear of getting the virus is a worst problem"
The poorest are more likely to have higher costs than the risk of losing their lives.
"If I can't succeed in the last few weeks, my job is on the line. My employer is already pressuring me and asking me to go to the UAE via other countries," Jameel Mohammed told AFP.
Mohammad had not seen his young son for two years when he was granted leave in March.
He was delighted to see that they would be reunited but now he is homeless in the southern state of Kerala.
"I can't afford that money. But if the election is between losing a job and borrowing money, I will do the following and go back."
All flights from the UAE to India - one of the busiest airports in the world have been suspended as cases of coronavirus in South Asia reach record levels and cover hospitals.
UAE citizens, national passport holders and official envoys are exempted from the above conditions.
The UAE is home to about 3.3 million Indians who make up a third of the population - most of them in Dubai, one of the seven emirates forming a coalition.
The recent suspension of flights that began operating on Sunday has shut down about 300 aircraft operating weekly in one of the world's busiest airports.
With the exception of low-wage workers on short-term contracts, this sudden move has left family members of long-term wealthy families heading to India for holidays, work or medical emergencies.
Many now live in fear as India's crime rate rises sharply, with 18 million cases and more than 201,000 deaths, and the daily death toll rose by more than 3,000 for the first time on Wednesday.
After the UAE closed its gap to curb the spread of coronavirus in March last year, some residents raised money for seated flights on chartered planes that were allowed to travel to Dubai.
Many legal airlines transport passengers from India to Dubai in the days leading up to the new ban, after all, commercial seats were confiscated, and law firms say demand has risen.
A 13-seater flight from Mumbai to Dubai costs between $ 35,000 to $ 38,000, almost 35 times the price of a standard ticket. Prices from other cities are very high.
But as the need to go up, operators have been in a hurry to clarify the rules surrounding private flights arriving in the UAE.
"The charter aircraft need permission from the General Civil Aviation Authority and the Department of Foreign Affairs to operate. But we do not know who has been exempted," said Tapish Khivensra, chief executive of the Enthrall Aviation Private Jet Charter.
Airlines say UAE people, strategists, law enforcement officials and "business" airlines are excluded from the ban, as long as passengers look for measures that include a ten-day detention.
Longtime Dubai resident Purushothaman Nair said he was ready to "spend a lot of money" to return to the UAE.
"My wife and I arrived in India in just 10 days. We have to return to Dubai by plane," he told AFP.
"There are a lot of people who are willing to pay. How can people with business interests and big responsibilities in the UAE stay longer?" said Nair, who works in the public sector.
"Fear of getting the virus is a worst problem"
The poorest are more likely to have higher costs than the risk of losing their lives.
"If I can't succeed in the last few weeks, my job is on the line. My employer is already pressuring me and asking me to go to the UAE via other countries," Jameel Mohammed told AFP.
Mohammad had not seen his young son for two years when he was granted leave in March.
He was delighted to see that they would be reunited but now he is homeless in the southern state of Kerala.
"I can't afford that money. But if the election is between losing a job and borrowing money, I will do the following and go back."
Posts
