UPDATE: An earlier version of this story incorrect reported that Emirates was suspending all passenger service to India.
From Sunday, Emirates will suspend passenger service from India to Dubai for 10 days as Indian coronavirus cases continue their disturbing rise. The United Arab Emirates will also ban all passengers who have transited through India for two weeks.
Emirates Suspends India Service For 10 Days
COVID-19 cases are surging in India. Yesterday, India set a new world record in reporting 314,835 new cases. Fear is mounting that India’s health care system is collapsing under the weight of this burden and that beyond a lack of beds, oxygen is quickly running out.
Manish Sisodia, the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, remarked that “It might become difficult for hospitals here to save lives,” as six hospitals in the capital city have already run out of oxygen and other states are holding back supply for their own citizens.
Twitter is proving to be a valuable tool to get pleas for help out in the coronavirus crisis in India. People are turning to Twitter to crowdsource help for oxygen cylinders, hospital beds and other requirements. @adityakalra and @DevjyotGhoshal report https://t.co/d7sWBT5FyJ pic.twitter.com/l3QPfqGgyZ
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 21, 2021
It’s not just new cases: deaths are occurring so quickly that bodies are being cremated in parking lots. Despite being a global exporter of vaccines, less than 1% of Indians are vaccinated.
With that backdrop, Emirates is suspending passenger service on flights from India, though cargo flights will continue to operate. Flights from Dubai to India will operate normally. A note on its website explains the suspension goes into effect at the end of the week:
“Effective 24 April 2021 Saturday, 23:59 Local time Dubai and for the next 10 days, Emirates flights from India to the UAE will be suspended. Furthermore, passengers who have transited through India in the last 14 days will not be accepted to travel from any other point to the UAE.”
This is not the only flight suspension in place. A suspension on South African flights began in January and remains in effect (until at least May 30th).
> Read More: Emirates Suspends Service To South Africa
If your travel plans are impacted, you can contact Emirates to rebook or request a refund.
CONCLUSION
With cases rising quickly in India, Emirates is suspending passenger flights from India for at least 10 days. The United Kingdom has also added India to its red list, meaning travel between the two nations is currently prohibited. Sadly, the situation may become much worse.
India has a lot of good stuff and smart people but their caste system has left the country a mess. Lack of sanitation to large parts of the country and now a leader who is a mess. I’m guessing more than some of the oxygen is being held/taken by those with the $$$ and the rest of the people have to do without.
Unfortunately I don’t see things improving over there (not talking about the virus in this case).
I stay in touch with a guy who moved from India in his 20s. Smart, nice but he also has zero interest in moving back to India for some of the reasons I stated above.
And I know some people will say they don’t care about India or Brazil or whatever but the reality is the more cases of COVID that exists and spreads, the higher the probability that you can end up with a variant that will bypass vaccines and/or be much more deadlier.
Your last point is precisely correct and the concern. Instead of hoarding AstraZeneca vaccines, the USA should share them with India. Ironic that many of the AZ vaccines are made in India but shipped overseas as bodies are burned in parking lots.
… and so does United. As it should be.
Indeed, UA has just cancelled tonight’s flight.
Emirates is not suspending flights to India.
They are suspending the carriage of passengers on the flights FROM India to Dubai. Passengers are still being transported on the flights from Dubai TO India, and the return legs will operate as cargo-only.
It has been one of those days. Appreciate you Sean! Story updated.
@rich, What you said about India and its caste system is true and the real reason is not the caste system but the corrupt and immoral politicians trying to use the caste system to gain power and to hold power and for their benefit.
I myself came from India when I was 22 and have been living here for the last 27 years. When I settled here I thought this would be my new home but lately I have noticed things turning pretty bad over here too. This time too the same unethical, immoral and corrupt politicians are responsible for the mess we are in and what worries the most is, the same corrupt politicians are using racing issue to gain power, to hold power or to their benefit, only this time its 10X worse(thanks to social media) than what India had to deal with in the 2nd half of 20th century.
racial*
So they will fly the planes back empty?
Cargo only.
For some good insight on India’s problems, see Thomas Sowell’s “Affirmative Action around the World.” Most Americans are oblivious to this, but over half of India’s population is eligible for Affirmative Action. India started AA over 70 years ago — long before the U.S. It has been a colossal disaster and contributed to India’s wretched condition.
What a pity we are fatuously waltzing down the same path.
Australia has just significantly reduced flights from/to India. It has been very obvious for some time ( although largely unspoken due to political correctness) that the overwhelming majority of cases in hotel quarantine are arrivals from India.
Covid is gonna be an issue for a long time still in the developing world, and even in fairly developed countries like Mexico and Russia. A good reminder to remember how fortunate we are here in the US to be so far ahead of the curve.
I think such comments should be deleted. This is not the forum for this discussion.
Interestingly, even though all of tonight’s Delhi flights were cancelled, the EWR-Mumbai went ahead, leaving after the other India flights were cancelled.
I am from India and can confidently state that the situation as it exists today is the fault of the citizens of my country. There are STILL hordes of Maskless Morons. Indians did not experience a second wave like the rest of the world in October – December and so got over confident. The idiot right wing government did not help matters either, but even educated and wealthhy individuals thought that they didnt need to wear masks. I have even had to cut off relations with a few people who I considered friends as I called them out on their hypocrisy of expecting others to wear masks whole not wearing masks themselves wen outdoors.
@GSGuy : Affirmative action is needed because of the millenia of bias that still exists today. Please keep your right wing dog whistle politics away from my country.
Which comment are you referring to?
140 mil people got vaccinated, which makes 10% of the population, not 1%.
https://www.mohfw.gov.in/