One has to pay nearly Rs 2 lakh to return home; Many including Malayalees rush for flight tickets in UAE

ABU DHABI: Thousands of tourists including Malayalees are stranded in the UAE after restrictions were imposed on airspace in the wake of the war. Special chartered flights have now been arranged for them to return to India. Travel agents said that most of the passengers are worried as their visas are about to expire.

Chartered flights are now available from airports like Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. Travel agents said that the price of a flight ticket currently starts from 2500 dirhams (Rs 62,706.85) depending on the route and availability. Some posts circulating on social media say that a passenger is being charged around 7000 dirhams (Rs 1,75,579.18) as ticket price. Advertisements for such charter flights are appearing on social media for those who cannot get a seat on regular airline services.

Travel agents said that many are searching for flight information to return to India every day. Only limited flights are presently operating. Services have not started to all cities.

Services are only being operated to transport those who need to travel urgently to their respective countries. Travel agents also asked others to wait until the situation normalizes. Presently, there are flights operating from Fujairah to multiple Indian cities. Travel agents said that they expect more flights to resume in the coming days. They also said that ticket prices may drop in the next five days.