Kerala group requests to charter 10 special flights

dubai — The Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), a community group in Dubai, has submitted a request to the Government of India to charter 10 special flights to repatriate stranded persons from the UAE to Kerala.

Puthur Rahman, president, UAE KMCC National Committee, told Khaleej Times that the KMCC has decided to charter these flights to transport stranded workers from the UAE to alleviate the distress caused by the shortage of evacuation flights to Kerala.

The KMCC has also requested the government to increase the number of evacuation flights from the UAE.

Though the Government of India has announced 13 flights to Kerala on the second phase of the Vande Bharat Mission, the KMCC believes the current volume of flights is not enough to meet the overwhelming demand from stranded citizens.

According to the KMCC, there are over 30,000 people who are in dire circumstances. “Some of them are in an extremely desperate condition, and they need to leave as soon as possible,” said Rahman. The KMCC has also agreed to foot the flight tickets of the needy passengers.

“We have written to the Indian Minister of State for Civil Aviation with a request to permit the landing of these chartered flights at Kerala’s four international airports — Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur,” said Rahman. Letters were sent to Dr Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, and Kerala Chief Minister Pinaryi Vijayan.