Qatar crisis: Flight cancellations, rerouting leave Kerala expats jittery

Several Keralite expats in Qatar are in panic mode after facing difficulties to return home and suffering monetary losses with the Gulf country reeling from the new diplomatic crisis.

The crisis has emerged at a time when Kerala-based expats and their families were scheduled to travel from the Gulf to Kerala, because of the Ramadan holidays and the two-month vacation, which is set to start around mid-June.

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Maldives broke off all ties with Qatar on Monday, and at least six popular airlines, including Emirates and Etihad, stated they would no longer fly to Doha or even use the country's airspace.

Also read: How the Qatar crisis could affect your travel plans

This has not only affected Kerala-bound flights from Qatar but also the ones from other Gulf countries, like the UAE, which were scheduled to fly over Qatar. In what has come as a bit of a relief, Emirates has announced that the airline would make alternate arrangements for the tickets which were booked from Qatar.

Doha-based Qatar Airways has also cancelled their services to and via the four neighbouring countries, which has led to many Keralites in the UAE, Saudi etc rushing to cancel tickets and make fresh reservations with other airlines.

Also read: Qatar crisis: Now Jet Airways, Air India and IndiGo route flights to Doha via Pakistan

With the Qatar airspace closed off, flights from Gulf countries to Kerala have to take a circuitous route via Iran. This means the passengers have to pay extra charges levied by the airlines towards fuel charges while the flights will also take more travel time.  

The severance of diplomatic ties has put Keralties on apprehension. Among the estimated 3 lakh Keralites in Qatar, majority are from Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts. They are also worried about their jobs and future, if the situation prevails.