COVID-19 precautions mean no more flights out and visas in aren’t granted

Arun Singh, 37, originally from Pune, who works in IT at a bank, had passed immigration and security and was due to board the 4am Emirates flight to Ahmedabad on March 22 when he fell asleep in the waiting area and missed the final call by a few minutes. Image Credit: Gulf News

Dubai: A UAE resident who missed the last flight back to India on Sunday after falling asleep in the waiting area of Dubai Airport is stranded in Terminal 3 after flights were suspended and the UAE refused entry to residency visa holders as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus.

Arun Singh, 37, originally from Pune, who works in IT at a bank, had passed immigration and security and was due to board the 4am Emirates flight to Ahmedabad on March 22 — when he fell asleep in the waiting area and missed the final boarding call by a few minutes.

All flights have since been suspended for a renewable period of two weeks. He isn’t allowed to re-enter through arrivals to exit the airport because entry even by residency visa has also been suspended for the same time frame.

Arun Singh “It was an honest mistake,” Singh told Gulf News. “I just fell asleep as I’m so stressed. I’m getting a divorce so I was flying back to India to file it.

“Initially I was allowed back into the arrivals immigration hall but then they said entry was only for GCC nationals. I explained to them that I had fallen asleep and that it was an accident ...

“I’ve rung the Indian consulate but they don’t have any information, in fact they are asking me for updates and information that I don’t have.