MUMBAI: Residents of Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra who are stranded in the Middle East owing to the closure of airspace amid the rising Iran–Israel conflict, are seeking help for evacuation on social media.Meanwhile, the UAE has requested local hotels to allow stranded travellers to extend their stay, offering to pay their expenses.Mumbaikar Harshit Choradiya relayed a video message from Dubai saying, “It is 6.30pm…We can hear loud sounds of missile interceptors. Life is normal in Dubai. Traffic and Metro services are plying and people are visiting restaurants to break their Ramzan fast. We are safe but I urge govt of Maharashtra, and India, to direct maximum flights to evacuate us once the airspace reopens.” Another traveller Vrushali posted a series of messages urging a private airline and the Indian govt to come to her aid.Stranded residents of Beed, Kolhapur, Dhule and a group of 80 students from Pune relayed similar pleas for help.Actress Sonal Chauhan addressed PM Modi on X, “I am currently stranded in Dubai due to the ongoing crisis, with flights cancelled and no clear way to return to India. I respectfully seek the Government’s guidance for a safe journey home. Grateful for any support extended.” She later posted on Instagram that she was safe and well.Naitik Shah tagged CM Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CM Eknath Shinde saying, “I am stuck in Dubai with my family. Request you to please help us. My parents are aged and we desperately need to get out of Dubai ASAP.”A Dahisar resident employed in Dubai said that while residents remain on alert, the situation on the ground seems to be normal. “At noon on Sunday, we heard loud sounds of missile interceptors. But within our gated community, people are stepping out as usual,” he said, adding that prices of some grocery items have increased as people are stocking up on essentialsAt Mumbai airport, 125 flights were cancelled up to Sunday 2.30pm. “Indian carriers have suspended flights to the Middle East and to London, New York, Newark, Toronto, Frankfurt because of routing problems. The Feb 28 govt advisory instructs Indian carriers to avoid the airspace over Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar till March 2,” said an airline official.Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha too remain shut. “Close to 50% of passengers from India travel to the US through these Middle Eastern transit hubs and these are not operational currently. The next option is to pay more and fly on a nonstop flight to New York, London, but because of the increased demand, seats on nonstop flights are largely unavailable for 24- to 48-hour advance booking. That leaves passengers with little choice but to book on European or African carriers and transit via Paris, Frankfurt, Addis Ababa to fly to the US. European carriers flying to and from India overfly Pakistan, Afghanistan and then to Turkmenistan, avoiding Iran and Iraq airspace and so they continue to operate,” said the official.He said ticket prices are 2-3 times the normal fare. The cheapest one-way airfare from Mumbai to London or Frankfurt is priced over Rs 1.3 lakh for Monday and Tuesday. On a normal day, it would have cost Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000. A travel agent said, “Despite the DGCA advisory…some Indian carriers continue to sell tickets on flights that would need to overfly these countries.” He added that certain Middle Eastern carriers too are selling tickets for travel on Monday and Tuesday despite the hubs being closed currently.
