Coronavirus: 6 Indians stuck at Dubai airport for four days

Dubai: Six Indian passengers are roughing it out at Dubai aiports for the past four days after they weren’t allowed to board their connecting flight to their home country over coronavirus fears.

The men flew into Dubai from various European countries on March 18. They were supposed to take the Emirates EK 510 flight to New Delhi later that evening. However, they couldn’t get onto the plane as the same day India imposed a ban on all passengers arrving from Europe.

Since then, the men are stranded at Terminal 3 of Dubai Aiport. “We don’t know what to do. We have been sleeping on airport benches for three nights now. I don’t know how long this stalemate will continue. Initially there were seven of us but one of the passengers flew back to France on Sunday as he was tired of waiting,” said Deepak Gupta from Delhi who flew in from Bupadest on March 18.

Another passenger, Ajmer Singh from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, said he’s on the edge of a nervous breakdown. “Our situation is really bad and it doesn’t look like improving any time soon. Our families are worried about us. I am desperate to go home,” he said.

The passengers said they have contacted the Indian consultate for help several times but haven’t heard back from them.

Neeraj Agrawal, head of chancery and consul (Press, Information and Culture) at the Indian Consulate in Dubai told Gulf News they are trying to resolve the issue. “We are aware of the case. Unfortunately, given the current scenario, there is only so much that we can do at this stage. The airport hotels are full so we can’t accommodate them there. We can’t fly them to India either. That said, we are in regular touch with the airlines and local authorities to relieve the plight of stranded men,” said Agarwal.

Three of the six passengers hail from Punjab and one each from Rajasthan, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh