With travel curbs eased, 3,000 Indians fly home from UAE daily

Dubai - Other passengers like visit visa holders are also flying in with no issues.

The UAE has been receiving a steady flow of passengers from India recently, showing signs that travel between the two countries is slowly returning to normal, according to an official at the diplomatic mission, as well as travel agents.

Neeraj Agarwal, consul for Press, information and culture at the Consulate-General of India in Dubai, said UAE residents in India are now receiving return approvals easily. Other passengers like visit visa holders are also flying in with no issues.

"What we have seen in the last two to three weeks is that there is a consistent inflow of passengers from India to the UAE. Flights are coming in with a good load," Agarwal told Khaleej Times.

Since a special air bubble was formed between India and the UAE, 70,000 to 80,000 Indian residents have already returned to the country, he said. "The exact figures will be available with immigration authorities in both countries."

Indian expats in the UAE, however, are cautious about travelling home. Agarwal said the demand for travel from the UAE to India is "not very high" at the moment.

While 8,000 to 9,000 seats are available daily on both Indian and UAE carriers, "roughly, 3,000 passengers are travelling to India every day". Recently, the Indian missions have announced that passengers who wish to fly home no longer have to register on their websites.

Removing this requirement has made it easier for expats to go to India for short emergency trips. However, prospective travellers are waiting to see if India will relax its stringent quarantine norms before planning their trip. In some cases, passengers are also waiting to see a dip in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country. As of Thursday, at least 3.8 million positive cases were reported in India.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

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