‘7,000 Indians flown home in 3 days; more flights over 48 hours

NEW DELHI: Nearly 7,000 Indians stranded in Dubai since February 28 have been flown back home in the past three days, with more flights scheduled from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Fujairah in the next 48 hours. Indian Ambassador to the UAE Deepak Mittal and Indian Consul General in Dubai Satish Sivan held a meeting with representatives of Indian and Emirates airlines on Thursday “to review efforts to address the concerns of Indians stranded in the UAE.”“Standard Indian nationals can rebook or book these flights directly with the airlines or through local agents… Airlines are working towards resuming limited non-scheduled flight operations. The travel of nearly 7,000 stranded Indians, especially those on transit and short-term visits, have been facilitated and returned to India in the past three days. The focus of airlines is to gradually increase these non-scheduled flights from different airports in the UAE in line with airspace security and operating permissions from the UAE,” the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi said on Thursday.