Flights and transit visas: How Indian missions in the GCC are helping Indians get back home amid rising demand. india news
New Delhi: With the Israel-Iran war escalating by the day, Indian missions in West Asia, including Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, are working hard to evacuate as many compatriots as possible. While Bahrain has had no air connectivity since February 28, Doha and the UAE have some flights. But since they are clearly not close to the travel demand, given the fact that more than one crore Indians live and work in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries – Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, these missions are coordinating with the Indian embassies in Saudi Arabia and Oman (for those residing in the UAE) to obtain transit visas so that people can travel to Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh and Muscat. Can go out of.But given the odds amid the war, Indians in the GCC are feeling the heat. A Doha-based Indian said, “I applied for a Saudi pass (transit) visa for myself, wife and my child on March 2. He has not yet arrived. I keep buying Qatar Airways tickets for Delhi flights but am unable to go out. Every time there is an explosion, our child gets very scared and we have difficulty consoling him.”
According to the aviation ministry, more than 1.5 lakh people have flown from the GCC to India between February 28 and March 11. Indian carriers resumed Riyadh flights from Thursday, with the first day seeing four flights each from Air India, IndiGo and AI Express.Aviation analytics company Cirium says that between March 6 and 12, Dubai International (DXB) saw a maximum of 167 departures to India, with Mumbai accounting for the highest number of departures at 62, followed by Delhi at 56; Hyderabad at 25th and Bengaluru at 24th. India has been the largest market for DXB for years.The Indian Embassy in Qatar on Thursday said Qatar Airways is expected to operate 1-2 daily flights to India in the coming days. “Indian nationals wishing to travel out of Qatar have the option of either taking a limited number of flights operated by Qatar Airways or transiting to Saudi Arabia via the Salwa border if a valid Saudi visa is available. We continue to facilitate temporary transit visas valid for 96 hours to Saudi Arabia for Indian nationals who were on a visit visa to Qatar and wish to transit through Saudi Arabia.”The UAE does not have regular flights and is giving slots to airlines as per availability. India is trying to get as many slots as possible but the demand is very high.Those who managed to reach home narrated their ordeal and also spoke about the pressure under which Indian Mission staff in the GCC are working. An Indian who returned to Mumbai on Thursday said, “The situation at Saudi embassies is strange in other GCC countries. Indian embassies are coordinating in getting Saudi transit visas which is a big help. We are really grateful to the embassy officials in Bahrain for helping us with our Saudi visas.”The Embassy in Qatar has set up a war room from where requests to get confirmed seats on Qatar Airways flights or Saudi visas are being handled.


