DUBAI: Pakistanis stranded in the United Arab Emirates amid travel restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus, say the special flights supposed to bring them back home have been offered at unaffordable prices.
Nearly 40,000 Pakistani nationals have registered themselves with Pakistan’s Consulate General in Dubai, hoping to return. Many of them came to the UAE as visitors, while others have lost their jobs amid business shutdowns in the Gulf country.
In order to facilitate the homecoming of stranded nationals, Pakistan opened its airspace last week and on April 18 the first special flight brought back 227 people from Dubai to Islamabad.
On Monday, four other Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights took around 1,000 people back home. It is expected that 2,000 more Pakistanis will return home from the UAE this week. A total of 14 flights have been scheduled to operate through April 28.
While people are desperate to return, many fear they will not be able to afford it as the airfare has gone triple the normal.
Mansoor Khan, an engineer from Islamabad who came on a visit to Dubai three months ago, said he would be unable to bear the financial burden. “I have already registered with the consulate but I have been asked to pay 1,650 dirhams for the return ticket when I already have one. I have run out of money now and I have had to borrow from my friends to buy the ticket,” he told Arab News, “I appeal to the authorities to look into this issue and make it easier and affordable to return since we might also have to pay for quarantine before heading home.”
While those who already have tickets have been offered reimbursement, it will be available only once they are back.
Iftikhar Saqlain, a driver from Karachi who came to Dubai to find a job three months ago, said he could not afford the return ticket, “I already have one and PIA tells me that I have to get it refunded from their offices in Karachi, but till then I have no money to buy a new ticket. In normal times, a ticket would have cost up to 900 dirhams, but now where will I get 1,550 from?”
Iftikhar said he had applied for support to the consulate and is awaiting response.
A video clip that went viral on social media on Monday showed a group of Pakistanis defying the curfew in Dubai in a protest outside the Pakistani mission. Addressing Prime Minister Imran Khan, the protesters showed their tickets purchased before the lockdown. They said they could not afford to buy new ones.
Shahid Mughal, regional manager for PIA justified the price hike by saying the airline was not operating in its full capacity. “We are hardly meeting our operational costs, in fact we are bearing the costs,” he said.
While the airline is operating a Boeing 777 for the flights, he said, “As per regulations and social distancing, though the craft has a capacity of 400 seats, we can only accommodate 230. All aisle seats have to be left unoccupied.”
“People can get a refund from the travel agents or PIA offices in Pakistan. If not, the tickets are valid for a year and can be used later once things normalize,” he added, explaining that this is the only thing the airline can offer at this point as these special circumstances.
One-way tickets to Faisalabad, Multan, Islamabad and Lahore are fixed at 1,650 dirhams for economy class seats and 2,200 dirhams for business class. The fare for Karachi is 1,550 dirhams.
Pakistan’s consul general to the UAE, Ahmed Amjad Ali, declined to comment on the matter and said the mission was doing its best to accommodate as many people as possible.
