Expat who dozed off and missed repatriation flight from Dubai flies home

Dubai - He fell asleep in the waiting area of Terminal 3 as the other 426 passengers boarded the flight.

A 53-year old Indian expat, who fell asleep and missed his flight back home, has flown to Kerala after spending a night at the Dubai International Airport. P. Shajahan, a storekeeper, flew to Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. He was originally supposed to fly on an Emirates flight chartered by the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) Dubai on Friday.
He fell asleep in the waiting area of Terminal 3 as the other 426 passengers boarded the flight. After he woke up, Shajahan had to stay put at the airport as his visa was cancelled.
S. Nizamudeen, who coordinated the charter flight, told Khaleej Times that Shajahan dozed off as he had not slept all night. "When he woke up, he was in a state of shock. We managed to get him a seat on an Emirates flight on Saturday."
Jasimkhan Kallambalam, organising secretary of KMCC Thiruvananthapuram, said he went to the airport to meet him on Friday. "We helped him with some money for food through another volunteer working at the airport."
anjana@khaleejtimes.com 

• Dubai