KOCHI: 1. Suresh Mathew and his family have been planning to fly to Kerala for holidays from Dubai, where he has been settled for the last four years, in July. But the rising Covid cases back home and the strict quarantine rules in the UAE have forced him to cancel the plans.
2. A couple who returned to Qatar after attending a wedding in the family in Kerala had to pay close toRs 3 lakh for a hotel stay in Doha as rules in the West Asian country required travellers to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.
Though thousands of families want to travel to Kerala from the Gulf countries for holidays in July-August, the uncertainty over their return journeys, including flight availability, and stringent quarantine rules in many West Asian countries have forced many to put off their travel during this Onam season.
According to the rules which were eased earlier this week, passengers who have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine with a valid residence visa are allowed to travel to Dubai from India. They should also present a negative certificate after a PCR test taken 48 hours before departure. Only QR-coded negative PCR test certificates are accepted. Passengers are also required to undergo RT-PCR tests on the fourth day and eighth day of their quarantine period.
During pre-Covid days, Kochi airport alone used to see an average of over 3-4 lakh passengers arriving from the Gulf countries during July and August. This time, the holiday season will see only those travelling for emergency purposes, officials said.
“A relative of mine travelled to Kerala for attending a marriage and then the second wave hit India, leading to the flight cancellations,” said Suresh Mathew. “She has been stuck in Kerala since then.” Though several flights including Emirates and Air Arabia are operating to Kochi, but they are not carrying passengers on return flights. “Only Oman and Qatar are taking passengers from here,” said a spokesman of Kochi airport. As of the latest reports, FlyDubai and Emirates have decided to resume passenger flights from Kerala.
Norka-Roots CEO Harikrishnan Namboothiri K said though the UAE has announced a relaxation in rules, several areas need clarification. “There is a requirement of the result certificate of the RT-PCR test taken four hours before departure. This needs clarification. I’m told airports are setting up the facilities for this,” he said.
Shabeer Ahamed, who returned from Doha recently, said Qatar is the only country that has been receiving travellers from India for the last couple of months. “But these too are not normal flights, only bubble flights -- that means a restricted number of flights,” he said. According to him, the high cost of the stay in quarantine in hotels there has made many travellers cancel their plans to travel home for holidays this season.
Kochi airport alone used to see an average of over 3-4 lakh passengers arriving from Gulf during July and August