Mums look for alternate plans

Dubai - His worried mother said: "I had to reschedule his flight for August 18 as I could not take the risk of making him wait at the airport."

Fifteen-year-old Gautam Pradeep was excited to board his flight to Dubai from Cochin International Airport after spending vacation with his grandparents in Pathanamthitta District in the southern part of Kerala. He was supposed to land in Dubai on Saturday. Being a minor travelling alone, his mother, L.P, provided him with the required authorisation letter and was eagerly waiting for her son to land in Dubai.
However, his travel plans were derailed with the Kochi airport closure and the airline asked him to reach Trivandrum airport instead.
Speaking to Khaleej Times from Dubai, his worried mother said: " I had to reschedule his flight for August 18 as I could not take the risk of making him wait at the airport or sending him to Thiruvananthapuram airport to take another flight. But my worry is that the rain forecast shows heavy showers on those dates again. I had to pay Dh545 to reschedule his flight. But I hope it doesn't get cancelled again."
Another Sharjah resident R.K., who was supposed to fly from Kochi to Sharjah with her daughter on Saturday said she was told that their flight was delayed indefinitely.
Speaking to Khaleej Times from her hometown Kottayam, R.K. said: " My daughter is studying in the US and has a flight on Tuesday from Dubai. Since the airline did not give me any date, I booked another flight from Trivandrum International Airport for Monday evening. I had to pay through my nose as the ticket prices have sky-rocketed due to this crisis. I just hope we can make it in time and my daughter is able to fly back to the US on time."
saman@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE