Gulf conflict: Indians in Bahrain, Qatar eye Saudi visas to fly out | India News
New Delhi: A Saudi “pass” or transit visa has become one of the most sought-after travel documents for many Indians in Qatar – where they plan to return home, more than the single-largest nationality, native Qatar. The same applies to Bahrain, where Indians are the largest expatriate community. They, along with other nationalities living in these two countries, are planning to return home from Saudi Arabia as airports in Doha and Bahrain remain mostly closed since February 28. While Iran’s conditional assurance on Saturday not to attack its neighbors – as long as the US and Israel use those territories to launch attacks on it – came as a huge relief to almost every Gulf country, many want to have a plan B if flights from Qatar and Bahrain do not resume soon. For most of those stranded in the UAE, flying from Muscat (Oman) remains the main plan B. Airports in the UAE like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Sharjah are able to operate a few flights depending on the situation which is not enough, given the number of Indians there wanting to return home.Data from aviation analytics company Serium showed that 98 flights set to operate from Bahrain were canceled on Saturday, while 321 of the 328 scheduled flights from Doha were cancelled. Dubai Airport’s cancellation rate was around 53% and the figure was over 76% for Abu Dhabi. On the other hand, less than 10% of flights to Jeddah were cancelled; 15% in Riyadh; 18% Madinah and 19% Muscat (all figures for Saturday).A Doha-based Indian, who did not want to be named, said: “I have a US visa and am eligible for a transit visa-on-arrival at the land border with Saudi, but my family members do not have it. We have applied for a pass visa and are waiting for the same.” I want to keep Saudi visa ready so that we can go through Qatar if the flight doesn’t start and the war intensifies. Although we hope for the best, we must prepare for the worst.“Diplomats at Indian embassies in Doha and Bahrain are receiving frantic messages for Saudi visas. Driving across the land border to Saudi or Oman requires preparation in addition to the visa process. A family planning to make it from Qatar has applied for a vehicle permit and packed for the journey as the border crossing is expected to take some time. “I will leave my car there because we can do it for 90 days. Hopefully, the situation will improve and I will return to Qatar in my car,” the person said. Similarly, many others in Bahrain plan to drive across the “Friendship Bridge” – the 25km King Fahd Causeway that connects Saudi Arabia.According to the DGCA, 52,360 Indians and 280 flights on UAE airlines and charter flights flew from the Gulf to India till Friday after the war broke out. Indian carriers operated 184 of these flights, followed by 85 UAE carriers and 11 charters. These flights were operated from places like Muscat, Fujairah, Jeddah and Dubai.
