TIRUCHY: With India imposing restrictions on the entry of passengers from Malaysia due to COVID-19, the decision has affected the return trips of several Malaysian citizens currently in Tamil Nadu. Officials from the Malaysian embassy on Wednesday reached Tiruchy International Airport (TIA) and collected details of their citizens who planned return trips from Tiruchy.
Sources said about 70 Malaysian citizens are currently in Tiruchy. The officials assured they would make alternative travel arrangements on Thursday.
Meanwhile, several passengers raised concerns about the ongoing situation. “When the Government of India announced visa restrictions (March 14), we contacted airline officials. They told us flight operations were as usual and that there was no restriction. Now, they are saying flight operations are likely to resume in April. Who would pay for our accommodation till then?,” said A Ilangeswari, a senior citizen.
Some passengers felt airlines should have informed them of the developments. “We came to know of the flight cancellations only when we reached here on Tuesday. If flights are cancelled, airlines have to make alternative arrangements. They should also communicate this to passengers,” said P Radhakrishnan.
Airline sources said the cancellations were due to restrictions imposed by the government. “We do not know when the government would relax the restrictions.
Therefore, we are unable to give any assurance to passengers. We have already explained our situation to the embassy officials. They would take up this issue with the government and make necessary travel arrangements for the affected passengers,” an airline source said. “Most of us have given our details to embassy officials. We hope they would arrange special flights via Chennai or Delhi,” a passenger said.
Meanwhile, TIA wore a deserted look on Wednesday due to the cancellation of five daily flights to Malaysia. Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Authority has announced all its international airports would remain closed from March 19 to 25. Therefore, the two Colombo flights from Tiruchy would remain suspended from tomorrow.
These cancellations have affected the travel sectors badly. “We are unable to give assurance to the affected passengers as several countries are coming up with restrictions,” a major travel agent in the city said.
