UAE: 19 Indians Stuck at Dubai Airport for 3 Weeks
Nineteen Indians have been stuck in Dubai airport for three weeks in a real life tale that has echoes of Tom Hanks’ smash-hit 2004 Hollywood movie The Terminal.
Most were in transit when India stopped inbound flights due to the coronavirus pandemic. The men roughed it out on airport benches for the first few days. On March 21 they were tested for COVID-19. Found negative, they were shifted to Dubai International Airport Hotel on March 25 and have been there since.
Among the passengers is Arun Singh, 37, who was due to board the 4am Emirates flight to Ahmedabad on March 22 when he fell asleep in the waiting area and missed the final call by a few minutes.
Curiously, sleep is pretty much what he does for most of his day. “I have been eating and sleeping and eating and sleeping ever since they put us here. I am comfortable but am desperate to go home,” said Singh, an IT professional at a UAE bank.
