After days of being in limbo, 19 Indians stranded at Dubai airport will be able to sleep well tonight as all of them been provided hotel rooms inside the airport.
“We thank the UAE authorities for accommodating 19 Indian nationals who were stuck at Dubai airport for past several days. They got stranded due to various restrictions to deal with Covid-19 pandemic. Hotel rooms have been given to them inside the airport,’’ tweeted the Indian consulate in Dubai on Friday.
1/2) We thank the UAE authorities for accommodating the 19 Indian nationals who were stuck at Dubai airport for past several days. They got stranded due to various restrictions to deal with Covid-19 pandemic. Hotel rooms have been given to them inside the airport.
— India in Dubai (@cgidubai) March 27, 2020
In an effort to contain the coronavirus spread, the UAE has gone into a lockdown since Wednesday to restrict the movement of people. Shops, malls and Dubai airport—one of the busiest in the world—were shut down on Wednesday midnight. As the airport turned dark for two weeks, the restaurants, too, were shut down, making the situation difficult for those stranded.
“Our consulate had been in constant touch with the Indian nationals and the UAE and Indian authorities. We had also provided some financial help to enable our stranded passengers to buy food. The situation was tough due to the pandemic situation,’’ the consulate said in another tweet,
2/2) Our Consulate had been in constant touch with the Indian nationals & UAE and Indian authorities. We had also provided some financial help to enable our stranded passengers to buy food. The situation was tough due to the pandemic situation.
— India in Dubai (@cgidubai) March 27, 2020
The UAE has shut entry for all international travellers since March 19. Flying in from across the world, the Indian travellers found that even if they had the means for accommodation in Dubai, they were not allowed to get out of the airport.
“I cannot travel to Russia where I live, because they have taken the same steps. I am basically stuck in no man’s land without a place to stay in a common area where I could easily contract COVID-19,’’ Rajendran Nair, one of the passengers, had tweeted two days ago. He was not alone. Arun Singh, a UAE resident, was due to take the last flight to India on Sunday, but he fell asleep in the waiting area and missed his flight. A desperate Singh had uploaded a video, asking for help.
Ten Indians—residents of the UAE—who had flown into the airport from various parts of the world have been put in quarantine “for the health and safety of all’’, tweeted the Indian embassy in Dubai.
