Indian expats face job uncertainty amid Middle East crisis
Since Saturday, hundreds of Indian passengers have been nervously waiting at many airports in India to take a flight that would bring him back to their work in the Middle East.
One of them is J. Fernandes, who hails from Siolim, a small village in Goa, and was due to return to work on Sunday in Saudi Arabia. He returned home for a quick visit to complete urgent work, but now he is not sure when he can return to work. “If this war continues for a longer period, it could also lead to job loss of migrant workers like me,” he said according to Indian media.
Another Goan, Thomas D’Souza, a former Gulf expatriate who returned home after the death of his mother, is also concerned about life ahead — if the war extends. He said that he could lose his job if he did not return to work on time.
Similar scenes of distressed passengers worried about the ongoing war in the Middle East and their flights were on display around the country on Sunday. But the news continued to be bad, as the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation said more flights would be canceled because part of Indian airspace was closed. Airports nationwide — in Chandigarh and Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata — were jammed with passengers hoping to board international flights destined for countries around the world.
R. Sandeep, a resident of London, said he was “in big trouble,” as his leave from work had been extended, and he needed to report to duty by Monday.
“I don’t know what to do,” said a Rajasthan resident, who was scheduled to fly from Delhi to Lebanon over the weekend.
Similarly, several passengers who were getting ready to head off on a holiday in the UAE expressed concern that their already booked hotel and flights would go wasted leading them to face significant losses due to the ongoing geopolitical conflict.
Others travelling on long flights to the US and Europe said they were worried too. “This is the story of us, we were trying to fly back to the US and our flight got cancelled. There was nothing known about our flight cancellation. No one has sent us any messages. “We’ve been here nearly an hour already.”
He is among a number of passengers who have complained about insufficient communication from Indian airports and airlines.
Visa extension for foreigners
Good news for foreigners stranded at Indian airports, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs quickly leapt to their assistance and suggested they approach the nearest Foreigners Regional Registration office to extend their visas or regularise their stay.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has requested all foreign nationals in India, whose travel plans have been affected due to the ongoing developments in the West Asia region and who require assistance on visa extension or regularisation of stay… to approach their nearest Foreigners Regional Registration Office,” said the ministry.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had earlier on Wednesday advised airlines to avoid the airspace of nearly a dozen countries in light of the war. They are Iran, Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar as well as Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.
IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet — all Indian carriers scheduled to fly to the Middle East have halted their operations. Many airports also alerted passengers about the canceled flights.
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