Indians stranded in UAE return, 151 Yemeni fly back

Joy.Sengupta@timesgroup.com

Pune:21.06.2020

A total of 168 people from Sharjah landed in the city on Saturday in a chartered flight of Air Arabia.

Aami Parivar, a social welfare group based in the UAE, coordinated and arranged the flight. It landed in Pune around 5.30pm.

The flight was slated to land in the city last Saturday but could not because of technical issues. “We were very anxious, but the group (Aami Parivar) continuously coordinated with the Indian Consulate and the authorities here. It is good to be back home finally,” a passenger said after landing in the city.

Santosh Karande, the founder of Aami Parivar, said, “There were some technical issues, but we kept our hopes high and continuously followed up with the authorities. It is a relief that the flight has landed in Pune.”

Sharavan Pawar, a passenger in the flight, said “My mother-in-law passed away and I needed to come back. I stay in Mumbai, but I think I shall not be able to go home for another fortnight as the administration will take us to an institutional quarantine hub. Many people in Sharjah have lost their jobs. Several companies told employees that they would not be paid salaries for three-four months. I shall try to go back after a month or so.”

Chand Abdul said, “I got stuck in Sharjah and my visa expired. I am a resident of Mumbai. The flight didn’t take off last Saturday and it was a major problem. I had no money and lived at a friend’s place during the week. I am relieved to be back home.” An aircraft of Yemenbased Yemenia Airways landed in Pune in the afternoon to ferry 151Yemini nationals.