Coronavirus: Indian expat stranded at Dubai airport after nap calls on UAE to just quarantine him
Dubai: A UAE resident whose nap at Dubai Airport has now left him stranded inside Terminal 3 for two days is desperately calling on authorities to just quarantine him.
Arun Singh, 37, has been left to shower in the toilets and eat out of terminal restaurants after he fell asleep and missed the last flight back to India on Sunday. All flights in and out of the UAE have been suspended due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Despite being a UAE residency visa holder he also can’t just exit the airport through arrivals because of the suspension of visa entrance amid the current lockdown.
“Since Gulf News published the first article on my situation on Monday there have been no developments,” said Singh, an IT professional at a UAE bank, who is originally from Pune, India.
“I’ve managed to meet up with six to eight other Indians in a similar situation and the Aide Service Office, which usually assists deported people has taken up to 15 passports including my own.
“The airport shuts tonight for two weeks due to the suspension of flights so I don’t know what I will do. The Indian consulate have no clue what happens next.
“My fear is that I’m being exposed to people from all over the world in one terminal and if I didn’t have coronavirus before I might have now.
“I made a mistake, I fell asleep and missed my flight I know, but I shouldn’t be punished like this. Isolate me, take me somewhere, quarantine me but don’t leave me like this,” he added.
A spokesperson from the Indian Consulate told Gulf News, “Of Arun Singh we are not aware, but apart from that there are 22 people right now stranded at Dubai Airport and we are fully aware of their plight. The case has been taken up with UAE authorities to find a solution for these passengers.
“The consulate has provided ex gratia financial relief to meet their expenses at the airport and we are in constant touch with them.”
