NEW DELHI: The plans of a large number of the 1,000-plus Indian students stuck in Iran to leave the country by funding their own plane tickets to India via the bordering nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan have run into trouble after several flights were cancelled.
Students who had booked flight tickets from Armenia to Mumbai or New Delhi to leave by March 15 or 16 have received communication that due to unforeseen circumstances the tickets have been cancelled. The students were supposed to depart on March 11 by road to Armenia with the assistance of the Indian Embassy and leave for Indian cities by Fly Dubai airline.
Speaking on behalf of the students, Faysal Ahmed, a final year student of the Iran University of Medical Sciences, also waiting to leave Iran, told TNIE, “Some of us decided to go to India via Armenia while some through Azerbaijan. Our tickets are getting cancelled from Armenia to New Delhi and also to Mumbai. We students are in a state of panic. Should we leave our present dwelling and go to Armenia or not, we just do not know what to do.”
He added that flights from Azerbaijan to India via Azerbaijan Airlines too were getting cancelled.
“Many of us are also facing health issues now due to the war-like situation. We are suffering from Gastritis, acid reflux, diarrhea, fever and cough apart from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We are very tense. Strikes are being carried out everyday around our hotels within a radius of 300 metres, he said.”
The students have shelled out between Rs 60,000 and Rs 80,000 per ticket to reach India from Yerevan airport in Armenia.
Dr Mohammad Momin Khan, National Representative of All India Medical Students Association (AIMSA), shared screenshots of the messages from the airline to the students about the cancellation of their tickets.
“In the case of Azerbaijan, students who want to go via the country need a visa for it. They are waiting for the visas and will be able to book their tickets only after they receive them. However, some students told me that flights from Azerbaijan too were getting cancelled when they were checking them out, he said.”
The airlines could not be contacted independently to verify the version of the students.
