UAE: More Than 150,000 Indians Register To Fly Home
More than 150,000 Indians in the UAE have registered to fly home during the coronavirus pandemic, as per the latest figures with the e-registration launched by the Indian missions here.
“As of 6 pm on Saturday, we received more than 150,000 registrations,” Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul told Gulf News on Saturday.
A quarter of them want to return to their homeland after losing their jobs, he said.
“About 40 percent of the applicants are workers and 20 per cent are professionals. Overall, 25 percent have cited job-loss as the reason for leaving the country.”
About 10 percent of the applicants are visit/tourist visa holders who were stranded after the flight suspension and lockdown in India. The rest of the applicants include those with medical emergencies, pregnant women and students, Vipul said.
While there are Indians registering to return to various states, the Consul-General said 50 per cent of the applicants are from the state of Kerala.
Keralites, who comprise more than one million of the 3.4million Indians in the UAE, are required to register with the missions also since it would help the central government to make arrangements for flight operations, the Consul General had clarified earlier.
Reports from India said the central government is preparing a mega plan for the evacuation and repatriation of Indians from the Gulf countries with the largest transport planes of the Indian Air Force and warships belonging to the Indian Navy being readied apart from commercial airlines like Air India.
Reports added that the first phase of evacuation is likely to begin with the UAE with distressed workers, especially those from the state of Kerala getting the first priority.
However, Vipul said the missions had not received any confirmation on these reports.
