UAE-India repatriation: Save seats for those who need them most, expats urged

On Saturday, the second phase of the evacuation mission started.

As India's Vande Bharat Mission goes into the second phase, people are urged to be responsible in claiming seats. For UAE expat Saxon Samson, "every seat is valuable" so he chose not to travel with his pregnant wife and two kids, who were bound for the south Indian state of Kerala on Saturday evening.
Though life has become challenging amid the pandemic, Saxon believed there are others who deserve a slot more than he does and wished to save a seat for those who are terminally ill and in distress.
"I can avail of this opportunity but didn't register for it as each seat on this flight is valuable. Each seat has a value of life. Let critical cases be evacuated. Each name on the priority list is equal to a life saved. I am fine and healthy. I will stay back and join my family when commercial flights restart operations," Saxon said.
He is thankful to the Indian Embassy for considering the case his family a priority, he said.
His wife Remya, who is eight months pregnant, is travelling with their kids - six-year-old Laszlo Saxon and nine-year-old Luvina Marysa Saxon - to Kerala's capital of Thiruvananthapuram.

Remya was among the 18 pregnant women on board Air India Express IX0538 from Abu Dhabi.
On Saturday, the second phase of the evacuation mission started. Three flights carrying 177 passengers each from UAE left for three airports in Kerala.
"Passengers of special flight IX0538 to Thiruvananthapuram, includes 63 persons with medical emergencies, 18 pregnant women, 87 persons who lost their jobs and 9 stranded tourists," the Indian Embassy said.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com